Do Something That Scares You Everyday
by beatlechicksteph
Summary: Sookie is in Italy with her fiance when things go bad. She gets a job at an international boarding school and has to share a dorm with our favorite tall blonde. Can he help her move on? Or will they drive each other crazy? AH/AU
1. Chapter 1

AN: Okay so here's the deal with this story. So this is my first multi-chap story in five years. I'm going to try and be good about updates, but it's going to happen during the week, I don't have time to write on weekends, that's the only time I see my hubby right now. The inspiration for this story came kinda in a dream. I dreamt that Eric was a teacher, and so I went from there. The Eleanor Roosevelt theme came from story time at the public library with my class.

Special thanks to the girls on Twitter for being supportive and encouraging me to just go for it.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable, CH owns them.**

Chapter 1: If Someone Betrays You Once, It's Their FaultSPOV

My life had been uprooted and changed in the last four months. I don't know how I ended up sitting on a bench at a park in Foggia, Italy, with one suitcase, no plan, and feeling sorry for myself. Well, that's not accurate, I didn't feel sorry for myself, I felt disappointed in myself. My hero, Eleanor Roosevelt, once said "If someone betrays you once, it's their fault; if they betray you twice, it's your fault." How could I be so stupid to think that Bill, my fiancé would change? And why did I have to come all the way to Italy to realize the fact that Bill is the spawn of the devil? But I'm getting ahead of myself. I should really explain the events that have led up to me sitting on a bench, in Foggia, Italy feeling disappointed in myself, and wondering "what will I do now?"

I grew up in Bon Temps, Louisiana, and had lived there all my life. To say I lived a sheltered life would be an understatement. I had grown up with my brother, Jason, and my Gran, after my parents were killed in a freak car accident. I never really dated, because I had the "orphan" stigma, and in a small town, you can only deal with being pitied so much. After high school, I went to New Orleans and attended LSU where I received my degree in History Education, since Gran loved history more than anything, and she passed that along to me.

That's where I met Bill. Bill Compton, member of the Air Force ROTC, getting a business degree in computer engineering. He was the first guy to like me, the first guy to ask me out, my first kiss, my first everything. He was the perfect southern gentleman, and I fell in love almost immediately. He would take me on these amazing dates, and would tell me stories of boot camp. We were together for three months when I decided to lose my virginity to him, four months when everything went to hell the first time.

It was a Friday night, our typical date night, and I decided to surprise Bill by stopping by his apartment with food from our favorite restaurant. I pulled out my key he had given me once we consummated our relationship a month ago, and opened the door. I walked in and heard noises coming from the bedroom. Curious, I placed the food on the kitchen counter and headed towards the bedroom, hoping that my instinct was wrong. I pushed open the door and there, on Bill's bed was Bill and some skank whore having sex. I couldn't hold back my tears as ran out of the apartment, hopped in my car, and drove all the way back to Bon Temps.

Gran comforted me and told me that if a man cheats, he will do it again, and that he's not worth my time. I believed her, until Bill showed up on her doorstep, begging for my forgiveness. He said that it was a mistake, and that Lorena was his high school sweetheart, and that it was a one-time thing, blah blah blah. And was I smart enough to see through his bologna and kick his sorry ass to the curb? No siree Bob, I fell for his shit and took him back, as he promised that he would "never betray me again." My brain should have been listening to Jason as he shouted "Bull Shit" when I told him and Gran that I was going back with Bill, but my brain was clouded with "love." I think that's the moment my relationship with Jason and Gran kind of fell apart. They worried about me, and I ignored them.

One month later, Bill proposed and I said yes. Gran cried, but I don't think it was from happiness. Jason told me that I should reconsider, but I didn't listen to him, and "followed my heart." Bill didn't want his "wife" working, so when I graduated from LSU with my certification, I didn't find a job. Which was fine, because a month after graduation, Bill got notice that he was being stationed at Amendola Air Force Base in Foggia, Italy, so we would be moving there. I have to admit I panicked. For one thing, I had never been outside of Louisiana, for another, I didn't speak any Italian. Bill assured me that living on the Air Force base I wouldn't need to know Italian, so we moved to Italy.

Living in Italy was incredibly boring. Bill wouldn't let me leave the base without him, and he never left the base. We were 212 miles from Rome, and Bill could never find time to ask for a weekend pass to visit it. So I joined a book club with other military wives. But I still wasn't satisfied. I learned of a school in the area that taught all their classes in English. I longed to teach there. So I applied for a work permit, without Bill knowing.

We were living in Italy for four months when all hell broke loose for the second time in our relationship. And this time it was a doozey. I had stepped out of our tiny house on the base to go to the post office. I knew that my work permit would be coming soon, and I didn't want Bill to find it, until the time was right to tell him. He had been very harsh to me lately. He would come home and yell at me if I hadn't cooked dinner the right way, or if it wasn't ready. The other thing that was suffering was our sex life. Bill just didn't seem interested in me when I tried to initiate things, and then sometimes, when I wasn't really in the mood, he would say things like "it's my duty, so just suck it up," and he would get kind of rough. I kept telling myself that we just needed to adjust to life in Italy and things would go back to normal. Boy was I wrong.

I returned to the house, with my work permit in my purse, and groceries in my hands. I was walking with a spring in my step. This work permit could fix everything. I could get some sort of job, and maybe I'll be happy again. I opened the door to our house and had a strange sense of déjà vu. I heard noises from the bedroom, and this time they were very distinct. 

"OH BILL! HARDER!" moaned a woman from MY bedroom. I through the groceries on the floor and ran to my bedroom and threw open the door. There in our bed was Bill and the same skank he cheated on me with before, Lorena. I was furious. This time, I wasn't going to leave quietly.

"What the HELL Bill?" I yelled tears threatening to spill.

Bill looked over at me, annoyance etched on his face. "Lorena, will you excuse us for a second?" Lorena climbed out of my bed, put on my bathrobe and sauntered into the adjoining bathroom, with a smirk on her face. "Sookie, how dare you raise your voice to me. What I do is none of your concern."

I looked at him and gaped. "None of my concern?? You're fucking another woman in OUR bed, Bill. How is this none of my concern?" I couldn't believe it, I felt like I had been slapped in the face.

Bill smirked. "Sookie, that language doesn't become a proper southern lady. You only need to concern yourself with cooking and cleaning and being the perfect wife, so that I can get promoted to an officer position. If you were better in bed, you could have had that job too, but alas, your inexperience really shows through."

I couldn't help the tears that flowed down my cheeks. He really knew how to make things hurt. "How long have you been sleeping with Lorena? And what is she even doing here, in Italy?"

Bill looked over at me while he was putting on his boxer shorts. "That's none of your business. Why don't you just run along and meet with some of the other women on the base and discuss our wedding plans or something. I want to go fuck Lorena in the shower, and she's not cool with you being here." He stood up off the bed, and made a shooing motion with his hands.

My mouth gaped. "HOW LONG, Bill!?!" I half screamed, half cried.

"The entirety of our relationship," Bill said nonchalantly. "You weren't putting out in the beginning, so I had to get it somewhere. And then when we finally did the deed, you proved that you weren't, shall we say, adequate enough to satisfy my needs. So I took a mistress. It's no big deal. I still love you and want to marry you."

I couldn't take it anymore, I felt like the world was crumbling around me. My fiancé didn't feel I was adequate enough in bed, so he took a mistress. He still wanted to marry me, and I think he kinda expected me to be okay with him having someone on the side. That's the moment that I woke up, and remembered that I owned my own life, and I had a work permit in my purse to remind me. I took the ring off my finger and threw it at Bill.

"We're over, Bill. I can't just stand here and have you insult me and treat me like dirt. If you want to fuck Lorena, then fuck Lorena all you want, but I won't stand around and let you treat me like shit. I'm out of here," I walked over to the closet and pulled out my suitcase and threw everything that I could fit in it and shoved it closed. I dragged it into the living room where I had dropped my purse. Bill followed me.

"Sookie, don't be ridiculous. Where are you going to go? And who's ever going to want you? You're terrible in bed, you cook like shit, and you don't obey very well. You should stay if you know what's good for you."

That was the last straw. I didn't even turn around as I walked out the door. Before I slammed the door shut, I yelled, "Go to Hell, Bill." I stormed off the base and walked towards the center of the city. I found a bench and I sat down, and began crying, hard. What if Bill was right, and no one would want me? And where the hell would I go now? I felt so disappointed in myself. I remembered Eleanor Roosevelt, my idol, the ultimate independent woman, and realized that I lost a lot of myself when I started dating Bill. I remembered one of Eleanor's sayings, and it was as if she was gently chastising me. "If someone betrays you once, it's their fault; if they betray you twice, it's your fault." Eleanor was right, it was all my fault. I should have listened to Jason and Gran when they warned me about Bill. I shouldn't have blindly followed Bill to another fucking country without listening to what other people had to say.

That's how I ended up here, on the park bench in Foggia, Italy, feeling sorry for myself. Wondering what the hell I did now. Do I go back to the States with my tail between my legs? Or do I stay in Italy? If I stayed, what would I do? And then, I remembered my work permit, my one stand against Bill, the one thing I did to go against him. My one salvation. It was in my purse, my ticket to my future.

**AN: So what do you think??? Please press the green button and review. Constructive criticism is welcome. But I 3 reviews. Eric will kinda appear in the next chapter, be patient, I have an outline, I know where I'm going with this.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you so much everyone for the reviews of the first chapter! I'm glad several of you enjoyed it so much! I tried to respond to everyone, but if I forgot you, I'm sorry, and I really do appreciate the reviews!**

**Thank you very much to my beta VampLover1, she fixed all of my grammatical errors, and it is greatly appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

Chapter 2: Life Was Meant To Be Lived

SPOV

I allowed myself an hour of sitting on the bench, just wallowing in my pain. Bill was my first boyfriend, so this was my first heartbreak. I told myself that I would only cry for that one hour, and that would be it. I would not allow myself to waste any more time on Bill than I already had. It was time to move on, and that's exactly what I'd do.

Once the hour was up, I dried my eyes and took a deep breath, muttering to myself, "Suck it up, Stackhouse." Then I started to weigh my options. I really didn't want to call Gran yet. I didn't want to take the chance that she would be disappointed in me, especially since she and Jason had tried to talk me into leaving Bill several times. Jason. He was another person whom I didn't want to face anytime soon. I quickly crossed off calling home for advice from my list of options. But returning home did seem very appealing right now. I could just get on the next plane, fly back to Bon Temps, live with Gran and become a hermit. I smiled. However, I did have this Italian work permit I worked so hard to secretly obtain. I _could_ stay in Italy, teach history and start a new life full of adventure and exotic locations. I frowned. Being a hermit sounded a lot more realistic than living an adventurous life at this point. At least if I was a hermit, I would have Gran and Jason around me. If I stayed in Italy, I would be alone, without one familiar face. My frown deepened, and I began to cry again. This time because I couldn't figure out what to do next.

I sighed and sank back into the bench, as tears rolled down my cheeks. This shouldn't be so hard. I had two choices: give up and go home, or stay in Italy and try a new adventure. I reached into my purse to get a tissue to wipe up my pathetic tears when I felt a folded up piece of paper. I pulled it out of my purse and unfolded it. It wasn't just one piece of paper; it was a packet of papers. My eyes widened as I read what was on the top of the front page:

**CCI The Renaissance School**

**In**

**Lanciano, Italy**

**Seeking an English-Speaking Teacher to **

**Teach American History**

**Paid generously, Room and Board Included**

**MUST START IMMEDIATELY**

I had forgotten that this flyer was the reason I obtained my work permit to begin with. Lanciano was only a fifty-minute commute from Foggia. I had thought that if I could convince Bill to allow me to have a job, I could work at this school and still be able to live on the base. But now, I could totally take advantage of the room and board part of the job.

Was this a sign? I had always believed in fate, and what were the odds that right when I was feeling conflicted about the future, I would pull this flyer from my purse? I took a deep breath and turned the front page back to read the details of the position. A small piece of paper fluttered to the ground. I picked it up and smiled when I realized that it was the picture of Eleanor Roosevelt that I carried everywhere. Written across the bottom of it were the letters WWED, What Would Eleanor Do. I used this picture throughout high school and college in order to motivate me and remind myself the goals I wanted to strive for in life. Whenever I was feeling conflicted or confused, I would pull this picture out, stare at it and ask myself what Eleanor would do if she were in a similar situation. The last year or so while I was with Bill, Eleanor was kind of forgotten while I tried to mold myself into the person _Bill_ wanted me to be.

I stared at Eleanor and thought about everything she did in her life and all the setbacks she endured as she fought to be thought of as an individual and not just the "First Lady" or "Franklin's wife." As I sat there on the bench contemplating my future, I could almost hear Eleanor whispering in the wind: "Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason turn his back on life."

That's when I had my answer. If I went back to Bon Temps right now, I would be turning my back on life. Giving up. And I didn't want to give up. If I went home now, Bill would win. I needed to assert myself as an independent woman living my own life, making my own decisions. Bill may have been the one to make me move to Italy, but I was going to be the reason I stayed.

I gathered my things and stood up, feeling better than I had in months. I started walking towards the train station. I was going to be a history teacher.

* * *

During the train ride and the subsequent taxi ride, I mentally prepared myself for the interview. By the time I walked in the front door of CCI, I felt very confident that I would do well. When I entered the office and asked the secretary if it would be possible to set up a time for an interview for the history position, a huge smile lit her face and led me directly into a conference room to wait for the headmistress. They must have been very anxious to hire someone, given that it was the end of September already; the headmistress walked into the conference room not even five minutes later.

"So you would like to interview for the available history position?" she asked quickly as she took her seat across the table from me.

"Yes, I would. I just received my Italian work permit yesterday, and I am certified to teach history in the state of Louisiana." As I spoke, I pulled out copies of all of my documents. Thank goodness there was a copy shop along the route to the train station back in Foggia.

"Ms. Susannah Stackhouse," she said, reading my name off of my resume. "I'm sorry, how rude of me, I didn't properly introduce myself earlier. My name is Sophie-Anne LeClerc, and I'm the headmistress here at The Renaissance School." She reached across the table and shook my hand.

"Please, call me Sookie, that's what everyone calls me," I replied, trying to sound confident and professional. "I was really surprised that you were able to interview me on such short notice."

Sophie-Anne's smile faltered a little; that didn't seem promising. "Well, we're a month into our first five month semester, and our American History teacher resigned last week. He was the second one we've had this semester. We're desperate to find a replacement as soon as possible. Your walking in here is like a blessing for us. It's difficult to find someone to teach American History in Italy. Our school is taught solely in English, and we use an American education curriculum. The majority of our students are from wealthy American families. Our class sizes are twelve students per teacher, and you would teach three classes a day. Dress code is formal. Can you start tomorrow?" Sophie-Anne looked at me expectantly.

My head was spinning; she talked very quickly, but one thing was bothering me, so I voiced that concern first. "Why did the other two teachers leave within a month of the semester starting?" It really bothered me that I would be the third teacher these kids would have this semester, and it was only a month in.

"They had a disagreement with the European History instructor. But you really shouldn't worry about that. We provide you room and board, but you'll have to share your dorm with the European History instructor. You seem very qualified--please accept the position." Sophie-Anne was giving me what I could only describe as puppy-dog eyes.

Even though I had a thousand questions and some doubts about the job, Eleanor's words about keeping curiosity alive briefly echoed through my head. This job _did_ pique my curiosity, more than a little bit, so I found myself saying, "Yes, I accept the position."

We spent the next couple of hours filling out paperwork, and receiving a class schedule, a class list, a textbook and the previous teachers' lesson plans. By the time I was finally shown to my dorm, it was mid-afternoon. I opened the door to find a room that was a lot smaller than I had imagined. There was enough space for two twin beds, pushed against opposite walls with desks sitting at the foot of them. There was a small living area that housed a couch and a television, but not much else. The small adjoining bathroom was large enough for one person at a time, due to the fact it had a bathtub/shower taking up most of the space. I really hoped that the European History teacher and I got along, because she and I would be spending a lot of time together in very close quarters.

Since I had taken a late train from Foggia, I decided that taking a nap before figuring out what I would be teaching would be for the best. I glanced around the room and decided that the bed against the undecorated wall was mine. I glanced at my roommate's wall and noticed she seemed to have some kind of crush on Alexander the Great. She had several posters of him up on the wall and an obscene quote written on her white board above her desk. I kicked off my shoes and collapsed on the bed. I fell asleep thinking that this was the freest and happiest I had felt since arriving in Italy.

* * *

I awoke what seemed like minutes later to the sound of the door being slammed shut. I turned towards the door to see my roommate enter the room. It was significantly darker in the room, so that must mean that I slept a lot longer than I thought. My roommate flipped the light on as she dropped her bag on the ground and turned around. As she turned around, I noticed an important detail that Sophie-Anne failed to mention this afternoon. My roommate wasn't a she at all. It was a very tall, very good looking, _he_. He looked up at me and there was what looked like annoyance in his face. He stalked towards me and said in a very firm voice, "Who the hell are you?"

My only thought as he stood staring at me, waiting for me to answer was, "What would Eleanor do?"

**AN: Please review and let me know what you think! More Eric in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So here's the chapter you have all been waiting for. Sorry it took longer than I expected to get this out. RL is really stressful right now, and trying to find the husband a job and move at the same time is crazy. Anyway, enough with the chatter, and on with the chapter. Thanks to my wonderful beta, VampLover1 for looking this over, fixing my mistakes and giving me a confidence boost!! As usual, I own nothing.

Chapter 3: Sex and Sleep Alone

EPOV

"Alexander the Great was born in July 356 B.C.E. in Pella, the capital of Macedon." I clicked to the next slide of my Power Point lecture that showed a map of Macedon, with a mark where Pella was located. Alexander the Great was my hero, so I always went all out when I lectured about him. I tended to rush through the material leading up to Alexander, and then take my sweet time teaching about him. Typically two to three weeks of lectures and activities revolving around the awesomeness that was Alexander the Great. I mean seriously, the guy was undefeated in battle, spread Greek culture around the world, and then died at thirty-two—the guy was a god! "He was the son of King Philip II and his fourth wife, Olympias. Alexander was a member of the Argead dynasty so he was able to claim that he was descended from Heracles," cue the picture of Heracles. "And also Achilles on his mother's side," and there's Achilles. See what I mean? The guy seriously was a god!

I glanced around the room and all twelve of my students were actively scribbling down every word that I uttered. I moved into describing Plutarch's version of Alexander's conception. As I talked, I noticed that one of my female students kept glancing up from her notes to flash me a smile and a wink. I was used to this. I was pretty fucking sexy, and all women, whether they were fifteen or fifty, noticed. But I wasn't stupid. I would never fuck around with a student. I loved my job and I would never do anything to jeopardize this position. But still, I couldn't help it if a female student or two winked, flirted, smiled or even grabbed my ass. It came with the territory.

I glanced up at the clock and realized that I was running short on time. I gathered up a pile of papers. "Your assignment tonight is to read this passage from Plutarch and write a response. It's due tomorrow. Pick it up off of my desk on your way out the door. See you tomorrow."

As the students filed out, I quickly threw my stuff in my briefcase and went down the hall. I had three sections of American History to cover, since the teacher had quit—again. I smirked at the thought. It wasn't my fault the school couldn't keep a teacher. Well, not completely my fault anyway.

I have been teaching at The Renaissance School for six years now. I moved to Italy from Sweden to get away from my overbearing parents. The fact that I was a teacher drove them crazy. They always wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor or some other corporate sell-out. I always wanted to give back to society by teaching our kids about the past so that they could learn from our ancestors' mistakes and try to make the world a better place. I followed my heart, and became a history teacher, and my parents never let it go. I stayed in Sweden, my home country, and taught in my birth town of Stockholm for a year after University, but I felt my freedom disappearing—rapidly. My mother didn't know the meaning of "boundaries," so the first thing I did was rent my own apartment, on the other side of the city. My space was very important to me, but my mother didn't get the hint. It seemed like she was always there, in my apartment at the most inopportune times, and she was really beginning to cramp my style. It was really hard to score with a chick when you had to worry about your mother being at your apartment unannounced.

My reputation bothered her. She didn't like that I was a one-night, love 'em and leave 'em kind of guy. I lived like my hero, Alexander the Great, who once said, "Sex and sleep alone make me conscious that I am mortal." And sometimes I would forgo the sleep part in favor of sex. And my mother was a hindrance to the sex part, and it bugged the hell out of me! She would whine about settling down and grandkids and shit like that. Stuff that I was really not ready for, being fresh out of college. The last straw was when I brought my latest conquest back to my apartment, and there was my mother, waiting for me. Needless to say, we had words, and the next thing I knew I was Googling "international teaching positions."

That summer I was on my way to The Renaissance School to teach European History, and for the first four years it was great. I had my own dorm and there was nobody to invade my space. I finally had the freedom I had craved in Sweden. Plus, I had made pretty good friends with the American History teacher, Tray Dawson. The two of us were pretty tight for a while. We organized a history fair together, and built up the history department to become pretty awesome. And after school, we would go out for beers and pick up chicks together. After four years, I considered Tray to be my best friend, and I'm pretty sure he felt the same about me. Well, we were best friends, until last summer.

I arrived back to my dorm after summer break, to find the room had been rearranged to house two people. Confused, I went to Sophie-Anne, who explained that due to the increased enrollment, the teachers now had to share rooms with another person in their department. That meant that Tray and I would be roomies. This was a problem. If I shared a room, it was like Sweden all over again. Good-bye freedom and privacy, hello to an extra person in the room and less sex. With Tray rooming with me, I wouldn't be able to bring women back to the room as often as I would like. That meant I would be focusing much more on the sleep aspect of my mortality and less on the sex. This was not going to be fun.

For the first semester, things were actually okay. Tray and I figured out a way to live with each other without killing one another. We even came up with a "sign" if one of us was getting lucky, so the other one would leave and come back later. However, even though things were working out, I still missed my privacy, and the freedom to do whatever I wanted in my own space. It was the reason I came here in the first place. I wanted my room back, so I decided to take a lesson from my hero, and began to wage war.

I figured that if I drove Tray crazy enough, he would get fed up and move to housing outside of the school, allowing me to have my room and sex life return back to normal. In order to motivate me in my "war," I printed out pictures of Alexander and placed them on the wall on my side of the room and wrote the sex and sleep quote on my white board. Typically I'm not a deliberately mean person, but I wanted my privacy back so much, I made an exception. It didn't matter if the person I was waging war against was my best friend, I didn't want to live with him, and I would do anything to make him move out.

Looking back, I guess I was being kind of a baby about the whole situation. We got along just fine, and Tray was a great roommate. But I can be an ass when I don't get my way, so "Operation Make Troy Move" began. It started off very innocently. I would leave my towels on the floor of the bathroom. I made a mess on my side of the room, even though it totally bugged me to do so, and when that didn't work, I moved my mess to _his_ side of the room. Let me say, Tray was a saint. He didn't complain once about the mess. He would scoot everything back onto my side of the room and just shrug it off. My "acts of destruction" did nothing to faze him. By March, I decided that maybe I should just grow a pair and accept that I would just have a roommate. However, at the end of March, one month before the end of term, I did something Tray deemed unforgivable.

Ironically this act of betrayal wasn't one hundred percent my fault, and it wasn't even my idea. Tray had been seeing a literature teacher, Amelia Broadway, for a couple of months, and this Amelia was a looker, and a shameless flirt. Every time we went out together, she would find an excuse to grab my ass or touch my shoulder, or something like that, and in my defense, I didn't encourage her flirtation; it's not my fault I'm hot. One day, I came back to our dorm and Amelia was in the room, in some frilly lingerie. I thought she was in there waiting for Tray, so I apologized and went to leave; that's when things turned weird. She told me that she wanted to fuck me because she heard I was a good fuck. I tried to protest, but then she was naked, so I fucked her. On Tray's bed.

That's when Tray came home. To say he was furious would be an understatement. He was yelling. Amelia was crying. The bitch actually started saying things like I was the one who came onto her, and that I forced her to fuck me. I tried to defend myself, but Tray wasn't listening. He packed a bag and left the room. The next day he had resigned his position and moved out. I felt like shit. I didn't intend for things to get this bad. I just wanted him to move to an apartment off campus, not resign. I didn't want to lose him as a friend and colleague. To top it all off, Amelia started spreading lies about me—like how I tricked her into fucking me when she was in the room to meet Tray. Those rumors spread not only through school, but also through the town. I finished the term getting decidedly less sex than I thought I would get by rooming alone again, and then went and spent the summer in Rome, where no one knew who I was.

I returned in September to find Bob in my room. Bob was the new American History teacher, and my new roommate. Fuck this shit. Bob wanted to be my friend, but he was annoying as fuck and always in my space. I decided to declare war on Bob and get him the hell out of my room. So far, like Alexander, I was undefeated in battle. I was going to get rid of Bob as quickly as possible; I just needed to figure out what made him tick. My answer came one week into the semester when I learned that Bob had started fucking Amelia. I pulled Bob aside and told him that I had a thing for Amelia and I had heard that he was now screwing around with "my woman" (I almost gagged on those words, since I fucking _hated_ Amelia), and if he knew what was good for him, he would end it or I would murder him in his sleep. Then for good measure, I showed him my replica of a Greek army sword. Bob resigned his position and moved out the next day. I covered American History for the next week.

One week after Bob quit, I came home to Chow. He was much, much easier to get rid of. All I had to do was play with my sword around him, and act a little unstable. He resigned his position and moved out. It only took three days. This time, Sophie-Anne blew a gasket. She told me that I needed to stop driving our American History teachers away. I explained that I just wanted my own room. Yeah, that didn't go over very well. Sophie-Anne yelled, fucking _yelled_ at me to grow up, get over it, or she would find someone who was willing to compromise. The kids deserved a qualified American History teacher to last the whole year. She was going to give me one more try, and if the next person she hired quit, she would automatically let me go too.

That night, before I headed back to my room, I stopped by and visited my new friend, Pam Ravenscroft, a new literature teacher this term. We became friends when I tried to convince her to sleep with me, and she informed me that she only fucked women. She was snarky and sarcastic, and we hit it off right away and became fast friends. The only downside to this new friendship was that her roommate turned out to be that bitch Amelia. I made Pam promise me that if I started to try and get rid of whatever guy they made me room with next, she would stop me. If I got fired, I would have to go back to Sweden, and have the worst roommate of all—my mother.

So I spent the next week teaching my classes as well as the American History ones. The fact that we started discussing Alexander in my classes today greatly improved my mood. I had decided that I was going to be on my best behavior with whomever they put in my room next. I had already put away the sword, and erased my score keeping on my whiteboard (Greece 3, Persia 0) and cleaned my side of the room meticulously. I was ready to play nice, and make a good first impression.

After my last American History class of the day, I stayed and graded papers, and made notes about what I did that day. I needed to make sure when they hired a new teacher, he would be able to take over the class. I looked out the window and noticed it was getting dark, so I sent a text to Pam saying that I would meet her for dinner, but first I had to go back to my room and drop off my stuff.

I arrived at my room, and before I could open the door, my phone beeped, indicating that I had a text message. I looked and saw that Pam couldn't meet me for supper because she had a date—with Amelia. Fuck. Now Amelia was infiltrating her way back into my life again. Couldn't that bitch just stay away from people I was close to? I took my frustration out on the door by slamming it shut. I threw my briefcase on the floor, flipped on a light and turned around and was shocked by what I saw. There on the extra bed was a beautiful blonde woman, giving me a very confused look. Who was she, and why was she here?

Then the answer came to me. Amelia. She must be trying to get in my good graces again since she's trying to date Pam. That bitch could be so annoying. I couldn't help the anger that rose up in me. Blondie just sat on the bed staring at me, not speaking. I was too wrapped up with the fact that Amelia sent a girl to my room to really pay attention to the suitcase in the middle of the floor. I was too busy getting annoyed that this woman wouldn't speak. I stalked towards her and she started just a bit. "Who the hell are you?" I yelled. I know it was a bit harsh to yell at her, but I was in a mood, and I had to take it out on someone. I waited for her to reply, but the poor girl looked like a scared rabbit. I looked at her expectantly and waited for her to reply. But she took too long, and that just annoyed me even more. "Look, I'm really not in the mood to fuck right now, please go tell Amelia that this was out of line and that she can't just expect that because she gets me a girl to fuck we will be friends." Okay, the girl looked really upset now, but she actually looked like she was finally going to talk.

Blondie took a deep breath and answered me in a shaky voice. "Um, I don't know who Amelia is." She paused. "To answer your first question though, I'm Sookie Stackhouse, and I'm the new American History teacher."

Fuck.

**A/N: peeks out* Okay, what did you think? We've finally met Eric, and we know why they haven't been able to hold an American History teacher. The good news: I've written part of chapter 4, the bad news is my husband has a job interview Monday that we're going to prepare for all weekend. I'll try and write during the week, but I'm not promising anything.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everyone! Bet you didn't expect to see another chapter from me so soon. Well turns out writing is great distraction. As of this writing, still haven't heard about my husband's job, so keep your fingers crossed. Thank you everyone for your reviews, they also have been helping distract me! This is actually my longest chapter to date! And it features the most dialogue I've written thus far.**

**Thanks a lot to my wonderful beta VampLover1. Without her help, this story would be full of grammar mistakes, and not make much sense! Also a shout out to KiraKiralina for giving me the idea that Sookie would need to go shopping :) Also, I love the Amazing Race, and the cowboys are my favorite team, see if you can see the shout out I gave them in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Chapter 4: Understanding is a Two-Way Street

SPOV

My mouth dropped open. This man thought I was here because someone named Amelia wanted him to have sex with me? His first impression of me was that I was a whore. What kind of man was this guy! After a moment of panic and fear, I decided my first course of action should be to set the record straight. "Um, I don't know who Amelia is," I paused to take a deep breath. "To answer your first question though, I'm Sookie Stackhouse, and I'm the new American History teacher." Mr. Rude looked like I just shot his puppy.

A silence fell between us. I took that moment to actually look at whom I assumed was my roommate. He was very tall, like giant tall, with icy blue eyes. He had longish blond hair, similar to my color, and he was incredibly handsome. Mr. Rude finally spoke up. "_You're_ the new American History teacher?" he asked incredulously, almost as if he couldn't believe it.

"Yes, Sophie-Anne hired me this morning," I replied, trying not to sound offended at his tone. "Who are you?"

Mr. Rude smirked a little. "I'm Eric Northman, the European History teacher."

Oh. My. Gravy. This was the man who caused the last two people in my position to quit—within a week of being hired. And now I'm expected to live with him? There had to be a mistake. Sophie-Anne wouldn't make me room with the one person who has been running off her teachers, would she? Before I could dwell on why I was living with this man, I needed to respond to Eric, and I figured I would give him a taste of his own medicine. "_You're_ the European History teacher?" I said, trying to match the tone he had used previously. "Sophie-Anne mentioned in my interview that you're the reason the last two people who held my position quit." I was trying to sound confident, but I wasn't sure if I was pulling it off. I've never been confrontational, but here I was, confronting this giant man, as he towered over me. I really should get off this bed. I guess this was going to be the new me to go with my new life; confrontational.

Eric smirked again. "Three."

I was confused. "Three? Three what?"

"I'm the reason the last _three_ people who held your position quit." Eric smirked again, crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall. The ass was actually _bragging_ about the misfortunes he brought upon others.

"Right. Well, this has been real nice chatting with you and all, but I think I'm going to go talk to Sophie-Anne about this living arrangement. There must have been a mistake or something." I stood up to leave, but Eric moved to block the door.

"There's no use talking to Sophie-Anne. There wasn't a mistake." He said the words smoothly, but there seemed to be a little panic in his eyes.

"What do you mean there wasn't a mistake? You're a man. I'm a woman. It wouldn't be proper for us to live together." Oh my gravy, I just sounded like my Gran just then. Screw proper; I didn't want to live with him because he scared the shit out of me. But I wasn't about to tell him that. Eric smirked again. I was starting to get really tired of that smirk. Not only was it annoying, it made him look sexy as hell. If he smirked one more time I wouldn't know whether to slap him, or kiss him.

"That's really funny. I'm sure Sophie-Anne will get a laugh out of it too. You see, here at The Renaissance School, teachers must room with another person in their department, regardless of their sex. Just ask the science department. And seeing as the two of us _are_ the history department, looks like we're stuck with each other, sweetheart." Eric said all of this as he casually leaned against the door, and then he winked at me. He actually _winked_ at me. What the hell? Wait, is he _flirting_ with me? For a minute I panicked. Why would he flirt with me? He's like a god, and I'm, well…me. That's when it hit me; he was using his charm to manipulate me. Maybe he was luring me into a false sense of security so that he could swoop in and force me to quit like the other teachers. I decided that Eleanor wouldn't fall for his crap, so neither would I.

"Did you just call me 'sweetheart?' Eric, if we're going to live together you will have to learn to respect me, and treat me like the lady that I am." I spoke harshly, even though my heart was racing. I decided to be brave and take things one-step further. "Why did all of my predecessors quit? Do you smell? Were they freaked out by your obvious Alexander the Great obsession?" Wow, I sounded like a bitch. Where was this side of me coming from all of a sudden? More importantly, where was this side of me when I was with Bill?

Eric leaned forward and invaded my space a little bit. "I wanted my own room, and I always get what I want."

My heart sped up. He was really close, and he smelled really good. No, I'm so not ready for this—at all. He will not seduce me. I just left Bill yesterday. Or maybe I was reading into this wrong. There's no way a guy like that would want to seduce a girl like me, unless he wanted something out of it—like his own room. I backed away from him slowly.

"Well, if you think that you can get me to quit so you can have the room to yourself, you're mistaken. You won't get rid of me as easily as the others."

Eric's eyes narrowed. "Well don't expect us to be friends. I refuse to be friends with any person who gets in my way of what I want."

I took a deep breath. "That's okay. I don't need any friends." I took a step back.

Eric took a step forward. "And we should come up with an agreement. I don't need you fucking up my life because you refuse to move out."

"I don't see how me living here will 'fuck up you life,' but I agree. We should come up with a roommate agreement of some kind." I took another step back. He really needed to stop invading my space. His height was very intimidating.

"Okay, here's the deal." He walked over and sat on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table. "You will keep to your side of the room. You will make yourself scarce on Friday and Saturday nights, or when there is a sign on the door that says 'get lost.' You won't associate with me outside of work or this dorm. I don't need the ladies thinking we're fucking, it would cramp my style. Do we have an understanding?"

Who did this guy think he was? What an arrogant bastard. He was planning on making my life a living hell in this room. For a moment I was at a loss for words. How could someone be so intentionally mean to someone they have just met? Then, a response came to me, courtesy of Ms. Eleanor. "Understanding is a two-way street," I started, causing Eric to get a confused look on his face. I opened my mouth to explain, when the sound of my ringing cell phone interrupted me. I recognized the ring tone, and I lost my courage almost immediately. It was Bill.

EPOV

I didn't know why I was being such an ass to Sookie. I should have been kissing her ass, making sure she didn't quit. That was the plan—play nice with the new guy. But here I was, coming up with crazy roommate demands and being a total asshole. I'm surprised I didn't beat my own record, and cause her to resign within an hour of meeting her. But, surprisingly, she was holding her own against me. She was feisty, and of all the people I've roomed with, the only one to stand up against me. And I had to say, I loved every minute of it. The only close call was when she was going to go talk to Sophie-Anne, but I diffused that situation. It also helped that she was hot as hell. Her blonde hair fell softly to her shoulders, her blue eyes shone brightly as she bantered with me, and don't even get me started on her body. When I chose to start flirting with her, her face turned an appealing shade of red, and that only made me want to push her more. To my surprise, she never missed a beat when arguing with me; it made me look forward to living with her. I finally had someone, besides Pam, to associate with on a friendly basis. Too bad I just told her I didn't want to be friends. What the hell was wrong with me? I purposefully said all of these ridiculous things, like that stupid roommate agreement, to get her to argue with me, but what if she started to believe me? That would suck big time. Just as she was going to respond to my ridiculous demands, though, her cell phone rang, interrupting the flow of our banter.

As soon as her phone rang, my little spitfire's face fell, and sadness clouded her eyes. She didn't make a move to answer the phone. She just stood there until the phone stopped ringing. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Wow, I guess she wasn't all fight, since whoever that was on the phone really shook her. She stood there with her eyes closed for what seemed like forever. I leaned forward to ask her if she was okay, but she opened up her eyes, and she spoke again, but not quite with the same spunk as before.

"Like I just said, understanding is a two-way street, so I think that before I agree to any of your crazy demands, you need to understand a few things, too." She paused, and I motioned her to continue, already knowing that I would agree to anything she laid out. But not without some friendly banter first. "I won't tolerate being kept out of my own room. This is my room too, if you remember correctly. Also, I would like to be treated with respect, and—" she was cut off by her cell phone ringing again. She didn't move to answer it, but this time she couldn't stop a lone tear rolling down her cheek.

Shit. She was crying. If there's one thing I can't handle, it's a woman crying. So I blame her tears for what came over me next. I began to feel guilty for being such an ass to her. Something was obviously wrong, she was crying for fuck's sake. I didn't want to be nosy and ask her about it, feelings aren't my thing, and it was none of my business, anyway. I knew the best course of action was to ignore the tears and try to distract her from her problems. At least that's how I explained what I did next.

"Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Let's start over, okay?" Sookie nodded. "Hi, my name is Eric, and I'm sorry that I thought you were waiting in the room to have sex with me. Even though it was a very plausible thing to think, after all, I _am_ sexy as hell." Sookie laughed at that. Shit, if I thought she was hot when she argued, she was even hotter when she laughed. I would have to file that information away for later. She took a step towards me and stuck out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Sookie, and I'm sorry that I insinuated that you smell, even though it's still quite possible that you do." She broke into a huge smile as I shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Sookie. How about we get you settled into the room, and then I can show you what I've been teaching your class?" I asked her, shocking myself with my sudden good manners.

"That sounds like a great idea," Sookie said with a smile on her face.

"So, where's all of your stuff? You can put your clothes away in this closet over here." I pointed to the closet next to mine.

"Oh, this is all I have." Sookie pointed to what could very well be classified as the world's smallest suitcase sitting by her bed.

"Alright," I said trying to sound upbeat. "Do you have any business attire? Sophie-Anne is very strict about the dress code for the teachers." I couldn't imagine she had very much of anything in that suitcase, but I knew that Pam would be willing to help, if Sookie needed any clothes. Looking at the tiny suitcase on the floor, so many questions rose up that I wanted to ask her. No one moved to a foreign country with a suitcase that small. It just didn't make sense. But I kept my comments to myself as I watched her face fall at the mention of the dress code.

"I didn't pack anything like that. I only have casual clothes and sundresses," Sookie said quietly, with her head down to the floor.

"How do you come to a job interview at a boarding school, and not bring appropriate clothing?" I asked before I could stop myself. So much for thinking this was none of my business.

"This wasn't exactly in my plan when I moved to Italy." Sookie said sharply, narrowing her blue eyes at me.

"Why did you move to Italy then?" I asked, getting up off the couch and taking a step towards her. Wow, so much for not being nosy. I just jumped right into asking the personal questions. Smooth. Sookie took a step backwards, panic and sadness in her eyes.

"That is none of your business. You're the one who said you didn't want to be friends, so let's just keep our conversations focused on history and school, okay?" she responded angrily. And just as I suspected, everything I told her at the beginning of our meeting was coming back to bite me in my ass.

"Fine, I can agree to that. Listen, I have a friend who teaches Lit here. She loves to shop, and she loves an excuse to shop. How about we stop by her dorm tonight? I'm sure that she'll let you borrow something to wear tomorrow, and once we explain that you need to go shopping, she'll jump at the chance to take you to buy new clothes after school tomorrow. Then after we meet with Pam, we can head down to the mess hall, eat some dinner and I can fill you in on what your class has been learning. Does that sound like a good, professional plan?"

Before Sookie could answer, her damn phone rang _again_. Whoever was calling her was nothing if not persistent. Sookie looked back towards her purse where her phone was ringing and then back at me. Her eyes filled with unshed tears. "Um, yeah. That sounds like a great idea. Let me just take a quick shower first, okay?" Her voice trembled a little as she tried not to cry.

"Yeah, sure." I replied, but she had already escaped to the bathroom and shut the door. I sat on my bed and texted Pam my plan. I lay back on the bed and closed my eyes, thinking about the last hour or so. I almost didn't recognize myself. My new roommate was a super hot chick, who seemed very vulnerable and who was currently naked in my, well our, shower. Yet instead of plotting a way to fuck her, I found myself plotting ways to befriend her, and make her happy. What was wrong with me? I must be losing my edge in my fear for my job. That had to be the explanation. But as I laid there listening to the sound of the shower and the distinct sounds of sobbing coming from the bathroom, I knew that when it came to Sookie Stackhouse, everything I knew was about to change.

**A/N: So, what did you think of that interaction between Sookie and Eric?? Please press the button below and leave me a review. I've already started chapter 5, so hopefully I'll have another update for you guys soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: So, it's been a longer time then I anticipated between updates. I've had this chapter written for 2 weeks, but Real Life has really gotten in my way when it came to typing it up. My husband didn't get that job, so we've been applying to more, we have to be out of our apartment by the end of July, so we're dealing with that AND my parents came for a visit last weekend from California. I can't promise that the next update will be faster, but I promise I'll try to update soon. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I had fun writing it.**

**Thank you so much to my WONDERFUL beta VampLover1. Without her, I would have the wrong tense and too many commas. She's awesome :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

Chapter 5: Do Something that Scares You

SPOV

I turned on the shower and as soon as I stepped in, the tears began to flow. I tried to will myself to stop, but I only began to cry harder. I was so confused. Bill kept calling me; he wouldn't leave me alone. I knew that I would have to talk to him, but I just wasn't ready. I left him _yesterday_. Why wouldn't he just give me some time? Then there was Eric, whom I just couldn't figure out. One minute he's telling me he doesn't want to be friends and makes a point of kicking his roommates out, and then the next he's offering to help me get settled and telling me his friend will lend me clothes. To top it all off, he scared the hell out of me. He was tall, like super tall, incredibly handsome, and when he wasn't being an ass, he was actually kind of nice. I was attracted to him and that scared me even more. Verbally sparring with him was truthfully a lot of fun. Bill would never have let me speak to him the way I spoke to Eric, and that was liberating. However, no matter the positives, living with a strange man scared me a little. If I couldn't live with a man I was engaged to, how was I going to live with a man I knew nothing about? I almost wanted to go to Sophie Anne, quit and go back home to Gran, but that's not who I wanted to be—the kind of person who ran from her problems or let fear dictate her life. As I stood under the shower head, hot water beating down on me, I decided that I was going to continue being the person I was when I was with Eric—strong and outspoken.

I turned the shower off and dressed back in what I was wearing before since in my haste I didn't grab fresh clothes, threw my hair up into a high ponytail, and marched out of the bathroom. Back in the main room, I noticed that Eric was lying on his bed with his eyes closed. Without asking permission, I walked over to his whiteboard, grabbed a dry-erase marker and crossed the room to my own whiteboard. I opened the marker and wrote the words: _"Do something that scares you everyday, and enjoy it"—ER_. I turned around and Eric was sitting up on the bed.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to my whiteboard.

"It's my new motto. Something I plan to live by everyday," I replied as I walked over to my nightstand to grab my purse, intentionally leaving my cell phone behind.

Eric looked at me quizzically. "So what did you do today that scared you?"

I smiled at him. "I decided that I'm going to continue to live here with you." That caused Eric to laugh. "Are you ready to go?" I asked throwing my purse over my shoulder and grabbing the folder of materials and the textbook Sophie-Anne had given me that morning. I glanced at the cell phone and shook my head. Bill was a fear for another day. I headed towards the door and looked over my shoulder. "Are you coming?" I could hear him laughing as I opened the door and stepped out into the hall to wait as Eric grabbed his briefcase and walked out of the room.

"Pam's room is at the end of hall. All of the teachers live on the same floor," Eric explained as he locked our door then led me down the hall. Sure enough, Pam lived only about 3 or 4 doors down from us. There was a "Do Not Disturb" sign, but Eric ignored it and pounded on the door.

"Go away!" came a voice from the other side of the door, followed by giggles. Eric pounded on the door again. This time, after a minute, the door opened, revealing a statuesque blond wearing a bathrobe.

"There's a reason I was ignoring your texts, Northman," the model spoke as she glared impatiently at Eric.

"Yes, well Pamela, I figured you could take a moment from your busy evening and help out your new colleague," Eric replied, gesturing towards me. Pam looked over at me, as if she just noticed I was there.

"There's no way she would fit into anything of mine," Pam said, looking me up and down. And I had to admit, she was right. She was at least four inches taller than me, and incredibly thin. I'm not exactly fat, but there was no way I would ever fit into her clothes. "But I'm sure Amelia has something she could wear." Pam threw open the door to reveal another woman in the room. "Amelia, do you have something to lend—I'm sorry, I don't believe I caught your name."

"It's Sookie," I said quietly. I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Between Pan and Eric, I was beginning to think that everyone who taught at this school was rude and vulgar. I looked past Pam at her roommate Amelia, who was also wearing a bathrobe. She was about my height and body type, with dark hair. She walked towards a closet and began digging through it.

"I'm Pam, 11th Grade Lit, and that's Amelia, 10th grade Lit. I'll come by your room after classes tomorrow to take you into town for shopping." I nodded my head to acknowledge that I heard her as Amelia walked to the door.

"Here, you can borrow this. I'm sure it'll fit," Amelia said thrusting a dress into my hands. She looked over at Eric. "Eric," she said curtly.

Eric glared at her. "Bitch."

The four of us awkwardly stood there for a minute before Pam spoke up. "Listen it's been real, but we're busy. Nice meeting you, Sookie." Pam flashed me a smile before slamming the door in our faces.

Eric grabbed my elbow and began leading me away. "What was all of that about?" I asked, as Eric practically dragged me into the elevator.

"Amelia and I have a—history," Eric said, pushing the button for the ground floor.

"What kind of history?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"A bad kind," he replied as the elevator doors opened, and we stepped out, heading outside. "Let's put your dress in my car. We'll pick it back up when we're done with supper." He led me to a bright red corvette.

"_This_ is your car?" I gasped, my eyes wide with surprise. "How could you afford a car like this as a teacher?"

"I was able to save up a lot, seeing as this job provides room and board," he replied as he opened the driver's side door, grabbed the dress from me and threw it on the driver's seat.

"Does one need a car to get around town? I didn't think the town was that large when I arrived this morning." I hoped I wouldn't need a car; it would take a long time before I saved up enough to buy one.

Eric locked his car and began leading me towards the mess hall. "You don't need a car to get around town. I only have this car so I can drive to Rome for long weekends and school vacations."

"You spend your breaks in Rome?" I was amazed. "You're so lucky. I've been in Italy four months, and I've never been to Rome," I said wistfully, as we entered the mess hall.

Eric looked at me, confused. "You've been in Italy for four months?"

Oops, I've said too much. Quick, Sookie, turn the conversation away from you. "Is Pam your girlfriend?" That seemed like a fair question, and it definitely was a way to change the subject. Besides both he and Pam were very beautiful people; it would make sense if they were dating.

Eric laughed as he grabbed two trays and began pushing them along the counter. "Pam is fucking Amelia," he laughed again as he saw the look on my face, which was one of realization. The two of them in bathrobes and the "Do Not Disturb" sign began to make a lot more sense. "What would you like to eat?"

"I can get it myself," I replied trying to maneuver the books in my arms so that I could handle the tray myself.

"Don't be ridiculous. Your arms are full. Just tell me what you want, and I'll put it on your tray," Eric said, without a hint of annoyance in his voice. He genuinely wanted to help. I couldn't help comparing him to Bill. If I were in this same situation with Bill, he would expect me to not only push my own tray, but take care of his as well. Is that what a true gentleman was like?

I decided right then that even though Eric insisted on not wanting to be friends I was going to make an effort to become his friend. I needed one if I was going to survive here. And even though he still scared me, I was more scared of being without friends in this strange country. I looked up at Eric and made sure I caught his eye before I smiled a genuine smile at him. "Thank you. I'll just have whatever you're having, since you've been here longer and know what's good."

Eric returned my smile as he placed two pizzas, two salads and two bottles of water on the trays and led me over to a table in the corner. We sat down, and Eric began to explain what my classes had been learning for the last month. As we talked about history, I began to wonder if the thing that I was scared of was not just living with Eric, but actually liking Eric. I was beginning to realize—he wasn't that bad of a guy. But I don't think he would appreciate it if I told him that. From what I could tell, he enjoyed being thought of as an ass.

EPOV

Sookie was so smart and creative. We were eating supper and talking about what her class was learning. I was telling her that I had rushed colonization a little so that more time could be spent on the Revolution, but if she felt that she needed to review anything, it wouldn't hurt my feelings. She had been all smiles since we arrived at the mess hall, which was good considering Pam and Amelia had been rude to her. Well, I guess I had, too. When she came out of the bathroom and declared she was going to do something that scared her, I felt bad. I didn't mean to scare her, or be mean to her, but I can't help my abrasive personality, or the fact that I would rather be alone. It's in my nature. But while we sat eating dinner, talking about history, I realized that this is what I missed most about Tray—the camaraderie and the friendly banter. I was beginning to think that I would be able to find both in Sookie.

"So, how does the school feel about creative approaches to teaching?" Sookie asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"It's strongly encouraged," I replied.

"Okay. So tomorrow I'm going to do an introduction to the Intolerable Acts in Boston by coming into the room and giving the students all these ridiculous rules to follow. Then I will delve into an explanation of all the Acts the British enforced on the Colonists. Does that sound like an okay anticipatory set?" She looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to answer. It was like she was unsure about her decisions. And what experienced teacher still used the term 'anticipatory set'? Then it dawned on me.

"Have you ever taught before?" Way to be straight forward, Eric. I was definitely not one to beat around the bush.

She looked down. "Only my student teaching experience. This is my first teaching job. I just graduated this past May."

Just graduated in May. And she mentioned that she had been in Italy the last four months, but she had never been to Rome, so she didn't come here to travel. "Why didn't you get a teaching job back in the States, closer to family?" Remember when I said I didn't want to be her friend? That was beginning to change. I found myself wanting to know more things about her. And we had only known each other for a few hours.

"I had my reasons," she replied, still looking down at the table.

"Okay, fair enough." I figured I wasn't going to get any answers tonight. Not until we had gotten to know each other better. "Well, I think your idea is great. And as your roommate, fellow department member, and an awesome teacher, I would like to offer my services as your mentor. If you need any help or have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask, okay?" There I did it. Offered an olive branch, a big one. I really did want to help her, since being a new teacher can be overwhelming. But I also wanted an excuse to spend more time with her.

Sookie looked up and smiled at me. God, I loved that smile already. I was done for and I knew it. Something was weighing heavily on my mind though. "Why are you scared of living with me? Was it because I yelled earlier? I'm sorry about that, but I was having a shitty day."

Sookie shook her head. "So, do you think I can get to the Civil War by Christmas?"

We sat in the mess hall another hour before walking back to our room. After stopping by my 'Vette to get her dress, we headed up to our room and Sookie retreated into the bathroom to get ready for bed. I walked over to put my briefcase on my desk when I heard an obnoxious _beep_ sound. It took me a minute to realize that the sound was Sookie's cell phone announcing all the calls that she had missed. I walked over to where her phone sat on her nightstand. My original intention was to turn the phone off, so Sookie wouldn't have to do it herself and get upset. However, when I picked the phone up and saw ten missed phone calls and twenty new texts, curiosity got the better of me.

Glancing quickly at the bathroom door to make sure Sookie was still in there, I began to scroll through the text messages. They were all from someone named Bill. The messages started off simple enough. The first few were the same.

**Why aren't you answering your phone?**

Then they changed into:

**I hope you're okay.**

**Why haven't you returned home yet?**

**You're making a mistake.**

**If you think you can just leave, you are wrong.**

**I WILL find you.**

**You are mine.**

I was so distracted by the last few messages that I didn't hear the bathroom door open.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sookie sounded furious.

I turned to look at her. "Who's Bill?"

**AN: So…what did you think? Please review and let me know. I'm going to try and update in the next week or week and a half. I promise. So hopefully you won't have to wait too long to see how this all plays out!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Check it out, another update :) Sorry it's taken me so long, real life really gets in the way. This chapter has a time jump, just because so far only a day has passed, and I needed to get our action moving, and I really want to start romantic things between our Viking and Sookie. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

**Thanks very much to my beta VampLover1. She totally rocks and makes it so my chapters make sense. And BTW, I own nothing.**

Chapter 6: There is Nothing Impossible

EPOV

Sookie and I stood staring at each other—me holding her phone, her looking angry, her mouth hanging open. I decided to pose my question again. "Who's Bill?"

Sookie stalked over and grabbed her phone out of my hand. "That's none of your business," she all but yelled as she started going through her texts, her back towards me.

"It sure as hell is my business, especially if he's a threat to my safety," I nearly growled back at her. I wasn't about to let this go. She was going to tell me what was going on. This Bill character rubbed me the wrong way for some reason.

"How are you in danger? Bill doesn't even know you," Sookie's voice still sounded angry, but as she continued to flip through the texts; she was beginning to sound sad and a little scared.

"He's sending you threatening messages, and I live with you, therefore I am in danger as well." I moved closer and put a hand on her shoulder. "Please, Sookie. Let me be a friend. I'm sure you will feel better once you tell someone what's going on."

Sookie turned around and looked at me, tears in her eyes. "I thought that you didn't 'do friends.' Besides, you just totally invaded my privacy, and I've only known you for a few hours. Why would I tell you anything?"

Sookie made a very good point. "Look, I'm sorry. Your phone was beeping and I was just going to turn it off so it wouldn't upset you anymore tonight, but my curiosity got the better of me. You've just been so secretive and sad since I've met you, and I just wanted to figure out why. And that stuff about not wanting to be friends…after spending the last few hours with you, I've begun to change my mind. So, please Sookie, who's Bill?"

I could see that she was considering telling me, just by the look in her eyes. We just stood there in silence, my hand still on her shoulder. Finally, Sookie took a deep breath and spoke so quietly that I had to strain to hear her. "He was my fiancé."

Wow. That was one answer I wasn't expecting. From the tone of the messages, I was waiting for 'my crazy-ass stalker,' not 'fiancé.' "Fiancé?" I asked aloud, disbelief in my voice.

"Yes, fiancé. He's in the Air Force and stationed at Amendola Air Force Base in Foggia. He moved us over here in June, just after we finished college. That's why I've never had a teaching job." Sookie looked up at me. She had tears in her eyes, but she already looked better now that she was sharing. I nodded for her to continue. She took a shaky breath and continued, never taking her eyes off of mine. "Yesterday morning, I came back from picking up the mail, and I walked in on him fucking another woman in our bed—the same one he cheated with before. It turned out that he never stopped sleeping with her. So I left him. I remembered reading about this job opening, so I came here."

She was openly crying now, I knew she left out details of the story, but I wasn't going to push. I had all year to get the gruesome particulars out of her. Instead of questioning her more, I pulled her into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around my waist and cried into my chest. As soon as I held her in my arms, I regretted it. Holding her felt almost—right. As if she was made for me. That realization scared the shit out of me. I was a self-proclaimed manwhore. I liked to fuck many women. I couldn't be monogamous. Could I? And if I could, would I be any better for Sookie than Bill was? I pushed those thoughts out of my head and focused on the crying woman in my arms. Right now I needed to concentrate on being a friend for Sookie, since she needed one now more than ever.

ooOOOoo

Over the next couple of months, Sookie settled into her teaching position, and I settled in as her mentor. I had accepted the fact that I had a roommate, and I was actually okay with that. The more I got to know about Sookie, the more I liked her. After classes were over, we would go to dinner in the mess hall and talk about our childhoods. She told me stories about her small town in Louisiana, and I told her about Sweden. As our friendship grew, I couldn't help but think that Bill was an idiot to let someone like her go. Of course, being friends with her came at a price. After shopping with them that first weekend, Sookie became fast friends with Pam and Amelia, which meant that they were around_ way_ too much for my liking. I found myself suddenly eating supper every night with three women, none of whom I was fucking. Granted, I wanted to fuck one of them, but I couldn't see that happening anytime soon.

Since living with and befriending Sookie, my lifestyle had drastically changed. I'm not proud to say that I found myself staying in more to hang out with Sookie, rather than going out to find a random woman to bed. I even went so far as to erase my Alexander the Great quote, replacing it with another thing he said: "There is nothing impossible to him who will try." I wrote that after living with Sookie for a month. It was during that first month that I decided I wanted to be more to Sookie than just a friend. However, the fact that I never felt monogamy was for me before I met her meant that I needed to try and change my life before I could even attempt to be anything more to her. The last man in her life was slime. I wanted to prove to her that all men were not like that. I wanted to prove that I was a better man than Bill.

Every day I felt myself growing softer towards Sookie, and everyday I could hear my mother in my head, rejoicing that I was finally settling down. Whenever I was around Sookie, I felt myself wondering if the reason I never wanted to settle down was because I had never met the right woman before. Sookie was incredibly smart, funny and feisty, and she made me think settling down wouldn't be too bad after all.

It was the end of November and because most of our students were Americans, we had the last part of the week off for the American holiday of Thanksgiving. Normally I would head off to Rome, alone, for a long weekend of debauchery; however, when I asked Sookie what her plans were for the weekend, my plans changed.

"I've never been away from home on Thanksgiving before. And I still haven't told Gran about Bill. I think I'll just stay here and gather the courage to call Gran," Sookie told me, with sadness in her voice.

I blame my next action on two things: the fact that I had grown to have feelings for Sookie and the fact that she sounded so sad when replying to my question. "Why don't you come to Rome with me?"

SPOV

When I found Eric reading my text messages that first night, at first I was super pissed. I couldn't believe that he would invade my privacy like that. Then after my initial anger, I listen to him explain how he wanted to be my friend, and the words just began flowing from my lips. I didn't tell him everything Bill did, but I told him a lot. And believe me, when I told him, it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Then when he hugged me—let's just say I felt something that I never felt with Bill, and that scared me.

That first weekend I went shopping with Pam and Amelia. While we were shopping, Amelia told me a lot of stories about Eric and how he would take advantage of women—and how he had taken advantage of her just last year. She explained how he was a "manwhore," and slept with anything with boobs. As she continued to say hateful things about Eric, I listened and thought about how Eric's quote that he had written on his whiteboard, about how sex and sleep made him feel alive, was starting to make perfect sense now. I decided that I needed to be careful around Eric, or else he might take it upon himself to make me a new conquest.

As the next couple of months passed, I settled into a routine, and found that I _loved_ teaching! Everyday challenged me in a new way, and it was wonderful. To think that I was willing to give up a career for Bill baffled me. After classes were over every afternoon, Eric and I would walk back to our dorm together, work on plans for the next day and then go to supper. The more I got to know Eric, the more I began thinking that Amelia was wrong about him. Yes, he was arrogant and some nights he didn't even return back to the dorm, but he was nice and patient with me when it came to mentoring me, and I could tell there was more to him than I had initially thought. Then I about died from shock when I came home from a girl's night and noticed that he had changed his Alexander the Great quote on his board. Instead of being the one about sex, it was changed to one about things not being impossible if you try. That's when it hit me. Eric was trying to change, even though if I tried to confront him with it, he would probably tell me to "fuck off."

Before I knew it, it was Thanksgiving, and we had a long weekend. The thought of spending Thanksgiving away from home really made me depressed. But, I still hadn't gotten the courage to tell Gran about Bill. I didn't know why I hadn't told her, I guess it was because I was afraid she'd say something like "I told you so." I wrote her letters every once in a while (she still couldn't figure out e-mail) telling her that I was enjoying my time in Italy, but that's about as much as I shared. I knew that Eric was going to go to Rome for the weekend, so I decided that I would call Gran and tell her everything. When Eric asked about my plans, I couldn't keep the sadness out of my voice when I answering him. What he said next shocked me.

"Why don't you go to Rome with me?"

"What?" I questioned, just to make sure I heard him right.

"Come to Rome with me. You've been here almost half a year, and yet you've never been. Besides, I wouldn't be able to have any fun knowing you were sitting here alone and depressed all weekend." Eric looked incredibly sincere as he explained this to me.

I considered his offer for a minute, thinking it was truly sweet of him to be worried about me, when I remembered something that Amelia just explained to me about Eric's weekends in Rome. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of your 'weekend of debauchery.'"

Eric took my hands in his. "Sookie, I would rather spend the weekend showing you around the beautiful city of Rome, giving you an experience of a lifetime, than spending it alone with some random chick."

We locked eyes, staring at each other quietly, and in that moment I knew that I had feelings for this man. He was willing to take me to Rome and give me a tour of the city instead of going on the trip to get laid. He really was trying to change. I decided that even though I wasn't ready to act on these feelings yet, spending a weekend away, just the two of us, without the distractions of school, would be good to cement our friendship. And build on the possibility of a relationship. "Okay. I'll go with you. But I really do need to call my Gran."

Eric smiled a bright smile, walked over to my desk and tossed my cell phone at me. "Call her now. We leave early tomorrow. Let me give you some privacy."

I watched as he moved towards the door to leave, my phone feeling like a weight in my hand. "Wait!" I called out, and he turned around. "Stay with me." He must have seen the desperation in my eyes, because he nodded and came over and sat down on his bed. I sat on mine and dialed the familiar number and listened to the ringing.

"Hello?"

My eyes filled with tears at the sound of Gran's voice. I really missed her. "Hi, Gran."

"_Sookie!"_ Gran exclaimed. _"Oh, honey, it's so good to hear your voice! How are you?"_

"I'm doing good. Italy is wonderful."

"_And, how's Bill doing? How's he like being stationed in Italy?"_ Gran was using her polite tone; she really didn't care how Bill was.

I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "I left him, Gran. Two months ago."

There was silence on the other end of the line. _"Oh, Sookie. What'd he do this time?"_ Gran's voice sounded so comforting. Emotion welled up inside of me.

"I caught him with Lorena again." A tear slid down my cheek. "When I confronted him about it, he told me that he had been with her the whole time." I held back a sob. "Gran you should have heard the things he said to me."

I could here some whispers on the other end of the phone and could tell that Gran was talking to someone else. My suspicions were confirmed when the other line picked up and I heard Jason's voice. _"Sook, what did that bastard say to you?"_

I glanced over at Eric, who was watching me intently. Well, it was time to stop keeping this to myself. I would never heal until everything was out in the open. I closed my eyes, I didn't think I would be able to say what I needed to say if I was looking at Eric. "He told me that the only reason he wanted to marry me was so I could be his proper Southern wife. He said that I was terrible in bed, so he had to have Lorena as his mistress to satisfy his needs. Then when I told him I was done, he told me that no one would ever want me, so there was no point in leaving him. I threw my ring at him and left." I opened my eyes and saw Eric staring at me, anger in his eyes. He got up from his bed and moved to sit next to me on mine. He placed an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side.

"_That son of a bitch,"_ Jason growled into my ear. _"See Sookie, I told you that he was no good slime after he cheated on you that first time. Then he went and pulled shit like this after taking you to another fucking country. If you had just listened to me—"_

"_Jason, that is enough,"_ Gran barked out. _"Now Sookie, that young man was wrong. You're a wonderful young woman, and you will find someone who believes the same thing someday. Now where are you staying? Are you safe?"_

"I'm working at a boarding school, as an American History teacher, here in Italy. I haven't been this happy in a long time, Gran."

"That's wonderful dear! I'm so proud of you! You should call more often, and keep me updated. You've been eating well, right?"

I laughed. "Of course, Gran, don't worry. I better get going. I'm going to Rome this weekend!" I couldn't keep the excitement out of my voice.

"_Oh my goodness! Sookie, that's wonderful!" _Gran sounded just about as excited as I was. _"You must send lots of pictures to share with me!"_

I laughed again. "Don't worry, Gran, I will." I grew serious. "I miss you, Gran."

"I miss you too, child. You take care of yourself, and call more often."

"_And e-mail,"_ piped in Jason.

I laughed. "Don't worry, I will. I love you both."

"_We love you too. Take care,"_ Gran responded.

"Bye."

"Bye."

I closed my phone and turned to face Eric. He pulled me into a hug and placed a kiss on the top of my head. "You should have told me," he whispered against my head. "If I had known this, all those times he called you the past few months, I would have answered the phone and told him to fuck off."

"I know. But it never seemed like a good time. And back when I first told you about Bill, I barely knew you," I whispered back.

"What changed? Why tell me now?" he asked.

I pulled away from him slightly, and looked him in the eye. "You're the person I'm closest to. I can trust you now."

Eric pulled me back into a tight hug. "Same here."

**AN: So what'd you think? I hope that you enjoyed it. Eric now knows what Bill did, and I don't think our Viking will let Bill harass Sookie anymore, what do you think? I'm going on vacation this week, so I won't be updating again for a couple weeks. But school is out, which means I'm on vacation until September, so I hope to update more often after that. Please review and let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: * hangs head in shame * Okay, so it's been a month between updates, but this chapter was really difficult to write. Eric and Sookie are in Rome, and I've never been to Rome, so I had to do a lot of research in order to make it seem realistic. Thank goodness for a website called "Top Ancient Roman Sites." The hotel that Eric and Sookie stayed in is linked in my profile if you want to take a look.**

**I want to thank my wonderful beta VampLover1 for all of her help. She corrected my constant repetitiveness and my Midwestern tendency to end my sentences with prepositions. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, it all belongs to Charlaine Harris, I'm just letting them explore Italy for a bit.**

Chapter 7: Happiness is not a goal

SPOV

The next day, we woke early and each packed a small overnight bag. Eric and I would be gone for about four days. I probably packed too much, but I blame the excitement and not knowing exactly what to pack. I glanced over at Eric; he was already done packing, doing something on his computer instead.

"What are you doing?" I asked, as I tried in vain to get my duffel bag to zip closed.

Without looking up from his computer, Eric responded, "Making a hotel reservation. I hope you don't mind, but I got us one room, with two beds of course. I figured we were already used to living together…"

"No, that's fine. There's no point in us getting separate rooms. How much do I owe you?" I asked walking over to my purse. Since I had started teaching at the school two months ago, I hadn't spent much of my paychecks. They'd just been accruing in my bank account. I now understood how Eric could afford that beautiful Corvette down in the parking lot.

"Don't worry about it. Let this be my treat," Eric offered, still not looking up from his computer.

"Eric, I will not have you treating me like I can't afford my own way. Please, let me pay for half of the hotel stay. You can treat me to dinner or something in the city." I finally had my own money; there was no way I was going to not use it.

I heard Eric take a breath. "Fine. You can pay your half. Let's get going. I want to get to Rome in time for us to settle into the room and then show you some sights." He shut his laptop and threw it into its carrier, obviously hoping I would forget about our discussion.

"Eric, how much is my half?"

Eric sighed loudly. "315 euros."

My jaw dropped. "315 euros? That's half?"

Eric sighed again. "Yes, it is exactly half. Now can we get a move on, slowpoke? At this rate, we'll be getting to Rome tomorrow."

I was still in awe over the cost of the hotel. I wondered if the hotels were always this expensive, or if it was because of the holiday. Then I remembered that Thanksgiving wasn't an Italian holiday. Wow. How Eric could afford to spend his breaks in Rome at these costs was beyond me. I must have been moving too slowly, because Eric grabbed my bag and began moving to the door.

"Fuck, Sookie. Did you pack your whole fucking wardrobe in this thing?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes as I followed him out the door and down to the Corvette.

ooOOoo

The drive to Rome was supposed to take almost three hours, however, with Eric as the driver it took a little under two. I had to admit, I feared a little for my life racing at such speeds down the highway, but once we entered the city, my fears evaporated. It was beautiful. As Eric navigated to the hotel, I couldn't help but be in awe of the sights that we passed. Just as I was admiring the Forum, we pulled to a stop. I looked up and noticed we had pulled up in front of a grand hotel. As Eric handed his keys to the valet and removed our luggage from the car, I couldn't help but gawk at the grandeur of the hotel.

"Welcome to the Hotel Forum Rome," Eric said, ushering me into a lush lobby with marble floors. He approached one of the two main desks and spoke in hurried Italian to the concierge. He came back with a key in his hand. "Do you want to go up to our room, drop off our luggage, and then explore the forums a little bit?" he asked, leading me to the elevator.

"That sounds wonderful! Oh, Eric this place is beautiful. Is this where you stay every time you're in Rome?" I asked as the elevator moved up to our floor.

"No, this is my first time staying here. I usually stay in hostels and pensions," Eric replied as the elevator dinged, and we walked down the hall to our room.

"We could have stayed in a hostel or a pension this time too, Eric. I wouldn't have minded really. It would have made the trip more of an experience." We reached the door to our room and Eric paused. He put down the luggage he was carrying, put both hands on my shoulders, and looked me in the eyes.

"I wanted to make this trip memorable. I wanted you to have fond memories of Rome to replace the ones you had before you came to work at The Renaissance School." He let go of my shoulders and turned back towards the door. "Let's see what these rooms are like."

He turned the key and opened the door to the room. It was magnificent. The décor was in deep reds, with gold interspersed in floral patterns. The floors were light-colored wood, and a vase of fresh flowers sat on a small table by the window. Then my eyes fell on the beds. There were two beds all right, but they were separated only by a foot of space, sharing headboard. I turned to look at Eric.

"So…two beds, huh?" I asked, a slight smile on my face. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but only briefly.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to deal with three nights of you snoring right in my ear," the Eric I knew replied, as he set our suitcases on the beds.

I scoffed. "I don't snore!"

Eric looked at me, a twinkle in his eyes. "You do snore, and incredibly loudly, too. I'm surprised our neighbors don't complain.. Come on. Let's go explore the Forum." We walked out of the room and then exited the hotel. The Forum was in walking distance, so we began strolling in that direction. As we started off, Eric's hand reached for mine and held on. We intertwined our fingers, and walked hand in hand towards the sights.

EPOV

When I saw our hotel room and how close the beds were, I almost had a panic attack. How was I supposed to control myself if she was sleeping one foot away? At least at school her bed was on the complete opposite side of the room. Now, for the next three nights, I would be able to smell her wonderful scent. This was not good. When Sookie revealed what that fucker of a fiancé had done to her, I was beyond pissed. I made a silent vow, as I held her after her phone call to her Gran, to make sure she forgot that asshat, and realized that not all men were scum. I promptly cancelled my reservation at the pension where I always stayed, and began researching nicer hotels in Rome. I would give her the weekend she would never forget. I found the Hotel Forum Rome in a Google search, and decided it would be good enough, especially at the last minute. When we arrived at the hotel and I saw the bed arrangement, I decided I really should have done a little more research, but what could I do about it now? I convinced Sookie to go explore the Forum for a while, since it was literally just steps away.

As we began walking towards the Forum, I couldn't help but reach for Sookie's hand. My heart soared when she intertwined her fingers with mine and we walked hand in hand. We continued to hold hands as we made our way through the archeological sites. I had been to the Forum several times, but this time, with Sookie, beat all the other times. She was so in awe of all the sites that she had only read about in history books. We would stand in front of a ruin; as she would rattle off the stuff she remembered about it, I would fill in the blanks. The most amazing part of the afternoon had to be when we visited the Rostra and Sookie began reciting Marc Antony's "Friends, Romans, Countrymen," speech. By heart. I stared at her, my mouth hanging open.

Sookie turned to look at me and shrugged her shoulders. "What?"

"That was amazing. How'd you do that?" I asked.

"I took a class on Ancient Rome in college, and one of the assignments was to memorize a famous speech from the period. Several people chose Julius Caesar. I decided to be unique and picked the speech Marc Antony made the day after Caesar's death." She squeezed my hand and smiled up at me before dragging me off to see the next site.

It was official. I was falling for this woman. She was perfect. Smart, beautiful and a history nerd. What more could I ask for? We finished looking around the Forum, we explored Capitoline Hill, located just above. After spending time enjoying the ancient sites, I led her towards The Aventine Hill. It had one of the best views of the city with the fewest crowds. I led her into one of the two parks where we sat down on a bench and gazed towards St. Peter's basilica. We sat closely together, and I stretched my right arm out across the back of the bench as Sookie leaned into my body. We sat in a comfortable silence, each reflecting on the afternoon we just had exploring a small part of Rome.

"Thank you, Eric. This has been the most fun I've had since moving here," Sookie said without looking away from the view.

I glanced down at Sookie's face, and just looking at her, you could see how happy she was. It was the happiest expression I had seen on Sookie's face since meeting her. And I was the cause of it. I was the cause of her mood. I was the one who caused her to have the most fun she'd had in Italy. Before I knew what I was doing, I used my left hand to tilt her head towards me, and I bent down to kiss her. As soon as my lips touched hers, every fucking cliché you could think of occurred. I saw fireworks, I heard birds singing, blah blah blah. The point is, I had never felt anything like it before. Her lips were soft, and all I wanted to do was taste her. But, before I could deepen the kiss, Sookie abruptly pulled away from me and stood up. I looked at her face, not liking what I saw there. Panic and regret.

"Sookie, I'm sor…" I tried to apologize, but Sookie interrupted me.

"I think we should head back to the hotel, maybe get something to eat," Sookie said, heading back in the direction of the hotel.

"Okay. Sure," I replied, following her.

We walked back to the hotel. But this time, we weren't holding hands, which pained me a little.

SPOV

Oh. My. Gravy. Eric just kissed me. One minute we're enjoying the view of the city, and the next, his mouth was on mine. Then I panicked. Why would he kiss me? He knew I was just getting over a relationship with Bill. But that was two months ago. How soon was too soon? Was I ready to start a relationship with Eric? I couldn't handle thinking about these things right now, so I began to head back towards the hotel. We walked back in silence.

Once we reached the room, Eric picked up the room service menu.

"What would you like to eat?"

I looked over at him. He was reading over the menu. "How can you do that?"

Eric looked up at me. "Do what?"

"Act like nothing happened."

Eric put down the menu and walked over to me. "Sookie, I'm sorry that I kissed you. You're the only real friend I have right now, and I don't want to fuck that up. If acting like nothing happened fixes things, then I'm going to do that."

I smiled up at Eric. "You're my only real friend, too." I leaned in and gave him a hug. He wrapped me in his tight embrace, and I breathed in his scent. Just being near him was so comforting. Maybe I was ready for something more. It had been two months since the Bill incident. I tightened my arms around Eric's waist, leaning my head on his chest. I felt so comfortable and safe in his arms, like nothing could harm me as long as he was around. But what if Amelia was right? What if he just wanted me as another conquest? What if I got hurt again? My heart couldn't handle being broken again.

"Let's order some dinner from room service and eat it on the rooftop terrace," Eric murmured into my hair.

I smiled. "That sounds good."

Eric pulled away from me and called down to the hotel kitchen to order us some dinner. Once it arrived, we gathered the food and our coats, heading up to the rooftop terrace to enjoy it. When we reached the terrace, the sun was starting to sink low in the sky, making the view beautiful.

"How are you enjoying Rome so far?" Eric asked between bites.

I knew my face lit up, by the look of amusement on Eric's face. "I know that we've only seen a small portion so far, but it's amazing! All the history! The stuff I had only read about in books, coming to life. I have no words for it."

Eric chuckled. "Wow, if this is how you react to the Forum, just wait until you see what I have planned for tomorrow."

I felt like a kid on Christmas. "What do you have planned for tomorrow?"

Eric laughed. "Well, first we'll visit a little place called the Colosseum."

I started to bounce up and down with excitement. "The Colosseum!"

"And after that we'll visit Piazza Navona, where we'll eat lunch at a trendy café. We'll spend our afternoon at the Baths of Diocletian, after which we'll end our evening exploring The Pantheon and enjoying drinks in the nearby piazza."

I couldn't help it, but I leapt into Eric's arms and gave him a huge hug. "Oh my God, Eric. Thank you so much!"

Eric chuckled. "You don't need to thank me, Sookie. I'm doing this because I care about you. You're my friend, and I wanted to do something nice for you."

I pulled away. "Eric, can I ask you something?" I needed to know once and for all if Amelia was right about him. I didn't know why I had to do it now, and possibly ruin this trip, but I needed to know.

"Sure, what is it?"

I took a deep breath. "Did you plan this trip as a friend, or were you hoping to get in my pants?" There I did it. I asked my question.

Eric looked at me like I grew three heads. "Why are you asking this?"

"I just need to know if you're really my friend, or if you're thinking I'm some kind of conquest."

"Who put this idea in your head?" Eric was beginning to sound frustrated.

"Well…" I started, unsure if I should rat out Amelia.

"Who?" Eric practically growled.

"Amelia," I squeaked out.

"Jävla kärring, jag på allvar kommer att mörda henne där hon sover." he yelled in frustration. I had never heard Eric speak Swedish during the entire two months we had been living together.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my voice was quivering a little bit. I had never seen him get so angry.

"I'm sorry, Sookie, I don't mean to get upset, but it's just like Amelia to do this. I admit, that I had a reputation as a ladies man, and I fucked every woman I met, up until you moved in. I've changed, Sookie, you've got to believe me."

"Why would Amelia tell me that all you're just interested in is bedding me?" I asked, seriously confused about the situation.

Eric sighed. "Amelia was dating the American History teacher who worked here before you. The first one I ran off last spring."

"Oh," was all I could say.

"I've made some mistakes in my life that I'm not proud of, and she's one of them. But I've changed."

I couldn't hold back the tears that were threatening to spill down. "But how can I be sure that you've changed? I don't think I can handle having my heart broken again."

Eric got down on his knees and kneeled before me. He took my hands in his and looked in my eyes. "Sookie, listen to me. I like you, like, really like you. Not just as a friend, either. I've never felt this kind of connection with a woman, ever. The fact that you're incredibly smart, funny and fun to be around makes you even more appealing. But I don't want to force you into anything you're not ready for. I am prepared to wait for you to decide you're ready for a relationship; and if you happen to choose me to have that relationship with, I promise that I will do everything in my power to not break your heart."

I looked up past Eric to where the sun was setting over the Roman Forum. My head was telling me to slow down, but my heart was telling me to go for it. I had listened to my heart before…and look where it had gotten me. However, this felt different. Eric was a very blunt and honest person; he had been nothing but honest with me from the moment we met. Eleanor Roosevelt once said that happiness wasn't a goal, it was a by-product. I may have moved to Lanciano to get away from heartbreak, but along the way I found happiness in the form of a friend, maybe more.

I looked back at Eric, kneeling in front of me, expecting me to answer him after he opened up himself to how he felt about me. I made a choice right then and there. And as the sun continued to set over the Forum, I leaned forward and kissed Eric Northman, opening my heart to him, letting him in.

ooOOoo

**AN: **_**"Jävla kärring, jag på allvar kommer att mörda henne där hon sover."**_-"**Fucking bitch, I will seriously kill her where she sleeps."**

**I used an online translator for the Swedish. If it's wrong, I'm sorry, don't blame me, blame TranStar.**

**So, what did you guys think of this chapter? A little fluff to make up for the long absence of updates. The good news: I'm already working on Chapter 8. The bad news: I'm in the process of moving. I'm going to spend my evenings at my old place working on chapters, until I have to move completely over to the new place though, so hopefully you'll have an update next week. Please give me a review with your thoughts!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: * peeks out * Hi! I'm back! I don't know where my July went, but it poofed and disappeared amongst moving. But now I'm settled in my new place, and my summer job is over, so now I have time to write!**

**Thanks to my beta VampLover1 for looking over this, giving great suggestions, and for fixing my love of commas and mid-west phrases :) **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 8: How Great Are the Dangers I Face

EPOV

She was kissing me. I was so shocked by the suddenness of the action that it took a minute to respond. I had opened my heart to her, and she responded by fucking kissing me! Did this mean she felt the same way? I forced myself to push those thoughts out of my head and focused on what was happening at the moment. I stood up, pulling Sookie with me, deepening the kiss as we went. I swept my tongue along her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth to allow me to gain entrance. She let out a quiet moan as our tongues grazed against each other. I instantly grew hard. It had been far too long since I had a good fuck. I trailed my hands down her back, and allowed my hands to settle on her perfect ass. I pulled her against my arousal, and grinded against her warm center. She felt so good against me, and she tasted like vanilla and our dinner. She also felt…right. Sookie let out another moan as I pressed against her again, but then she abruptly pulled away, jumping as far away from me as she possibly could.

"I can't do this," Sookie said, trying to catch her breath.

I took a breath, worried that she had changed her mind or that I had read the situation all wrong. "It's okay. I understand." I actually didn't; I hoped she would explain.

"I'm sorry, Eric. It's not that I don't want to, because I do, it's just that we're moving too fast."

I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. Slowing down I could do, as long as she wasn't ending us before we even started. I held my arms open, motioning to her. "Come here." Sookie walked over, and I engulfed her in a comforting hug. "I will wait until you are ready. I will not pressure you into anything that you aren't ready for."

"Thank you," Sookie whispered against my chest, squeezing me tighter.

We stood there for a while, just holding each other and enjoying the comfort of our embrace. After some time, it's unclear just how long we stood there, I broke the silence. "What do you think about going down to the room and going to sleep a little early? That way we can get an early start in the morning, and make the most out of the daylight?"

I could feel Sookie smile against my chest. "That sounds wonderful. I just hope I can get to sleep, what with all of the excitement," she giggled and pulled away from me. I could see a huge grin on her face. I laughed and grabbed her hand, intertwining our fingers.

We walked hand-in-hand back to the room, parting only so she could go to the bathroom to do her bathroom routine. I walked over to the table next to my bed and picked up my phone to set an alarm for the morning. As I flipped open the phone to set it, I noticed that it had died, and I hadn't packed my phone charger.

"Hey, Sook, can I use your phone to set an alarm?" I yelled through the bathroom door.

"Yeah, go ahead. Can you check my messages? I'm wondering if Gran or Jason called or texted," Sookie replied.

I walked over to the table next to Sookie's bed, picked up her pone and checked the messages. Sure enough there were two texts. The first one made me smile. It was a picture of an older woman cooking a turkey, with the message, 'Wish you were here.' That must be her Gran. I hoped some day I would be able to meet her. I scrolled to the next message, and what I saw made my smile turn into a frown. Then anger began to bubble up.

Talked to your Gran and she wouldn't tell me where you are. I WILL find you. Happy Thanksgiving.

Bill. I fucking hated that guy. He just wouldn't give up. Sookie has taken to ignoring him, but it still bothered me that he just wouldn't leave her alone. It also bugged me that Sookie wouldn't just confront him.

"Are there any messages?" Sookie asked, coming back into the room, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah, one from Jason, and another from Bill," I replied, handing her the phone.

She smiled as she saw the picture of her Gran and typed a quick reply. She didn't even read the one from Bill, just deleted it. She clicked around on her phone and set it on the table. "I set the alarm for six, is that okay?"

I nodded, pulling Sookie in for a quick kiss before heading to take my turn in the bathroom. When I got out, Sookie was already asleep in her bed. I turned out the lights, and headed to bed myself.

I awoke to the bed bouncing up and down. I pried my eyes open to see Sookie jumping up and down on my bed. I groaned and rolled over. The clock on my table read 6:45. I had slept through our alarm. "C'mon sleepy head. Rise and shine," Sookie giggled, jumping on every word for emphasis.

I groaned again, reaching up to grab Sookie, pulling her down on top of me. Sookie shrieked as I wrapped her in my arms. "Now, that wasn't a very nice way to wake me up."

"You wouldn't wake up. I tried everything. I let the alarm run, I turned the T.V. on, I sang. Nothing. You were dead to the world. The situation called for drastic measures," Sookie explained, grinning the entire time.

I laughed and reached up, touching her cheek lightly with my fingers. "I'm sorry, min söta. I guess I was more tired than I thought." I started to pull her in for a kiss, but Sookie pulled away, laughing at the confused look on my face. "Why don't I get a kiss?"

"Because we're already behind schedule. You promised me a glorious tour of Rome. Now get out of bed and get ready for the day." Sookie slipped out of my arms and then started to try and pull me out of bed by my arms.

I laughed. "Okay, you win. I'm up." I stood up and before I went to the bathroom, I stole a kiss. As I rushed off to get ready for the day, I heard Sookie laughing behind me. What a glorious way to start off a day.

We grabbed a quick breakfast and headed over to the Colosseum. Even though a lot of the Colosseum had been lost over the years, it was still an amazing place to go. It was built in the year 80 CE by the Emperor Vaspasian and could hold 55,000 spectators. Sookie and I stood and viewed the Colosseum for a couple of hours, Sookie making fun of the men dressed as gladiators walking around. We decided around noon to begin our walk to the Piazza Navona for lunch.

We chose to eat at La Terrazza Bramante. We were seated at a small round table on the terrace, with a wonderful view of the piazza. We ordered a pizza to share and sat back, sipping wine.

"Eric, this is amazing!" Sookie said as we waited for our food to arrive.

"Well, make sure that you order some tartufo. It was supposedly invented here and tastes amazing," I replied, smiling at Sookie over my glass.

"Forget the food, the last two days are just what I needed, Eric. Thank you so much." Sookie looked across the table at me with a meaningful glass.

"I'm glad that I could help, Sookie." I reached over the table and took her hand in mine.

"What are we?" Sookie asked seriously. "Are we just a fling or are we something more?"

I frowned. I thought I had made myself clear last night, but obviously Sookie still had doubts. And even though it scared me when I thought about what I wanted us to be to each other, I knew my answer without needing to think about it. "Well, Sookie, my love, I was hoping to be your boyfriend. Is that okay with you?"

The smile on Sookie's face could have lit the entire city of Rome. "Eric, I'm very okay with that!"

We leaned across the table to share a kiss when Sookie's phone began ringing. Bill. That fucker.

Sookie just ignored it, and the call went to voicemail. We started to lean across the table again to finally have that "Yay! We're together!" kiss, when the phone rang _again_.

"Give me your phone," I practically growled.

"Why?" Sookie asked as she dug it out of her pocket. It had stopped ringing.

"I'm going to turn it off, so we don't get rudely interrupted again," I said, holding my hand out for the phone.

Sookie smiled and gladly handed me the phone. I wasn't going to let Bill ruin our perfect day. With the way things were going, we were going to have a magical night. Just as I was opening the phone to power it down. The phone rang again. The guy would not give up one bit. Going on instinct, instead of ignoring the call and powering the phone down, I answered and put the phone to my ear.

"Hello, Sookie's phone," I said casually, ignoring the look of shock on Sookie's face.

"_Who the hell is this?"_ came Bill's voice from the other end of the phone.

"This is Eric, Sookie's boyfriend, who is this?" I asked, even though I knew damn well who it was.

"_This is Bill, Sookie's fiancé. What do you mean you're Sookie's boyfriend? That's impossible. Sookie is mine," _came the growling response on the other end. This Bill guy was a serious head case.

"Well, Bill, I don't know what planet you live on, but when a girl throws her engagement ring at someone, that usually means the relationship is over."

"_It was a misunderstanding. If I talk to Sookie, I'll be able to make her see what a mistake she has, and she will come back running, leaving you behind."_

"I don't see that happening, Bill. You need to stop calling and texting Sookie. It upsets her. And when she's upset, I'm upset. You understand what I'm saying here?" I growled, trying to sound threatening.

"_Sookie is mine. No one else can touch her. You will tell me where she is."_

"I don't think so. Have a good day. Oh, and don't call her again." I hung up the phone before Bill could reply. I looked across the table to see that Sookie's smile had been replaced with a scowl and tears were threatening to spill down her face.

Well, fuck. What was is that Alexander the Great once said? "How great are the dangers I face…"

**AN: Min söta: My sweet. I hope you enjoyed what I consider my "come-back" chapter. I am in the process of writing chapter 9 right now, and my real life has calmed down quite a bit. I hope to get back to updating more often. Please go and vote for my story "Brothers in Arms" in the Age of Eric contest! Until next time, please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: So I'm back in school, and I have regular scheduled breaks, and I've been writing. I know this summer I was totally fail at updates, but now that I'm at school, it will be better, I promise. I have already written nearly half of the next chapter. I'm going to try and update weekly, but I'm not going to promise that, because life happens. Also, this chapter marks a change in rating, the lemon is at the end, so you can skip it if you don't want to read it. I'm not going to ramble anymore, so without further ado, here's the next chapter.**

**Thanks to Northwomn for beta'ing this for me! It was truly appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 9: What One Has To Do Usually Can Be Done

SPOV

I stared at Eric as he hung up the phone after speaking with Bill. I was so angry with him, even though logically I should be thankful. What made me angry though was the fact that Eric had just done it without me asking. It was a very caveman thing to do. "How could you be so high-handed?" I asked, emotion lacing my voice as I urged myself not to cry.

"High-handed?" Eric asked, confusion evident on his face.

"Answering my phone and telling Bill to leave me alone. I never asked you to do that. I had it under control," I explained.

Frustration flared in Eric's eyes, replacing the confusion.

"Oh, yeah. You had it 'under control' all right. You were doing just fine ignoring the problem as he called all hours of the night and as he texted offensive and possessive messages to you," he said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Sookie, if I were going to be high-handed, I would just buy you a new phone, and get you a new phone number, so that son of a bitch would leave us the fuck alone."

We sat there for a minute, just staring at each other, before I pushed myself away from the table, stood up, and started walking away. I ignored Eric as he shouted for me to return. I refused to turn around. I didn't want Eric to see that I had started crying. I kept walking, not really knowing where I was heading, just that I couldn't go back to the hotel, since that would be the first place Eric would look for me, and I needed some time to think.

I found my way to Aventine Hill to the same bench we were at the evening before. I sat amongst the orange trees, staring out at the city and wondered why I was so quick to push Eric away. It had to be some kind of defense mechanism after Bill killed any kind of trust I had for men. I needed to remind myself that Eric wasn't Bill, and I could trust him.

I shouldn't have gotten so upset at Eric for telling Bill to leave me alone. I should have been thankful; since he did something I was too chicken to do myself. I should have thought of Eleanor Roosevelt who once said, "What one has to do usually can be done." But I didn't, and I ended up having my boyfriend do the dirty work for me, and then had the gall to get pissed when he did it.

I sighed and put my head in my hands. I really blew it big time. I could only hope Eric didn't hate me for running off like I did. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and stared at it, knowing I should call Eric and tell him where I was so he wouldn't be so worried. Just as I was about to start scrolling through my numbers to find Eric's, my phone began ringing. Without paying attention to the ringtone or the name on the screen, I answered.

"I'm so sorry," I almost sobbed into the phone. "I totally overreacted."

"Finally, what I've wanted to hear for months now," a voice that wasn't Eric's drawled. Bill. Shit. "Now, just tell me where you are, so that I can pick you up and bring you home where you belong."

"Why are you calling? I thought Eric made it pretty clear that you shouldn't be calling me anymore," I replied, all traces of sadness I had over the Eric situation instantly replaced with anger.

"You think I'm going to let some other guy tell me that I can't contact my fiancée?"

"I am not your fiancée any more, Bill. If you recall, I threw my ring at you after I caught you in bed with that slut."

Bill growled on the other end of the line. "Things aren't that easy, Sookie. You are mine, you belong to me. And if you think I'm just going to let you walk away into the arms of some other man, you are mistaken."

"I am not an object, Bill, you don't own me. No one does. I can choose what I do and who I am with. I've chosen to be with someone who treats me right, not someone who treats me like a piece of property." Oh, my gravy. Where did this newfound confidence come from? Maybe Eric was rubbing off on me. "You will stop calling me and you will _definitely _stop calling my Gran. If you don't stop harassing me, I'll be forced to take a restraining order out on you."

I didn't know how those worked in Italy, but I should definitely research it.

"Listen to you sounding so confident. It's disgusting. Did you know that your cell phone has a GPS chip inside of it? Did you know that I'm tracking you right now and have been since you left me? So there's no hiding from me."

Bill sounded evil. That's the only way to describe it, and it scared the hell out of me. I didn't even respond to him, I just reacted the only way that seemed logical—I threw my phone off the hill.

I stood there shaking. Bill knew where I was and probably where I lived. And on top of that, he had completely lost his mind. I wasn't safe anymore. I felt my knees begin to give away from underneath me, but before I hit the ground, I found myself wrapped in strong familiar arms. Eric had found me. I turned around, buried my face in his chest and clung to his waist.

"How did you find me?" I mumbled against his chest.

"I called the hotel and the concierge hadn't seen you, so I knew this was where you would be. Sookie, I'm—" Eric started to apologize, but I cut him off.

"No, Eric, I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have overreacted. You did something I should have done a long time ago," I said, still clutching Eric tightly. I was still shaking from what Bill had revealed—Eric noticed.

"Min älskling, what's wrong? What happened? You're trembling."

I pulled away far enough to look into Eric's eyes.

"Bill called me back. I told him to stop calling. He told me that my cell phone had GPS in it and that he's been tracking me," I paused, my voice trembling. "Eric, he knows where we are right now. He probably knows where we live," my voice wavered at the end. I was so scared.

"Jävel," Eric muttered, what I assumed was a curse. "Give me your phone."

"I can't," I replied.

"Why not?"

"Because I threw it off the hill."

Eric smiled. "That's my girl. When we get back to school, we'll order you a new phone with a new phone number. We'll get you a local number for Louisiana, that way your Gran and Jason can call you without getting long distance charges. And we'll tell Sophie Anne about Bill. She'll make sure security doesn't let him into the dorms."

Eric sounded so on top of everything. He already had a plan, and I was still freaking out.

Then Eric paused, and began to look ashamed. "I'm sorry. I'm being high-handed again. This is the exact same thing that made you upset before. I'm so—"

I stood up on my tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips, abruptly cutting him off.

I pulled away.

"I can't even begin to thank you for all of this. You have a plan, and that's better than I would have done at this point. I'm still freaking out, and you're so calm and levelheaded. I needed this. Thank you so much."

Eric looked down at me, smoothing my hair out of my face. "I may seem calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside, I'm probably just as freaked out as you are. I'm worried that bastard is going to come to the school and hurt you when I'm not around to protect you. But when I am around, you don't need to be worried," he paused and got a huge grin on his face. "I have ninja sword skills."

I started laughing. "Do you really?"

Eric shrugged. "Well, I have some antique swords in our room, and I sort of know how to use them."

I laughed again, feeling infinitely better. "Well, now I'll feel much safer. If Bill comes, you can go all Alexander on his ass."

Eric laughed with me. "You know, I _have_ picked up some things from watching that Oliver Stone movie." Eric grew serious. "You know that I won't let anything happen to you right?" he asked, with a meaningful look.

"I know," I replied, returning his gaze.

Eric bent down and captured my lips with his. This kiss was different than the one we shared the night before. This one held a deeper meaning. Eric's arms tightened around me as he pulled me against him, deepening our kiss. The mood went from tender to passionate quickly, and I could feel Eric's arousal pressed against me through his jeans. I pulled away.

"How about we move this back to our room?" I asked, breathlessly, trying to convey my want with my eyes.

"Are you sure?" Eric asked, concern mixing in the lust on his face.

"I'm more than sure," I replied before pulling Eric down for another kiss. He pulled away after a minute, and took my hand in his larger one and we practically ran back to the hotel.

As soon as we were back in the room, I had barely shut the door when Eric was on me. He pulled me into a kiss and I let out a moan as he moved his mouth down my neck. It felt as if his hands were everywhere as he explored my body. I let my hands roam and I felt the tight muscles of his back before moving on to grab his ass. Eric groaned and pulled away long enough to remove my shirt and bra before continuing his ministrations with his mouth kissing his way down my body. I laced my fingers in his hair as he fell to his knees and latched onto one of my breasts. He used one hand to massage my other breast while the other moved to the button on my jeans. I moaned at the sensations he was creating while tugging on his shirt.

"Too many clothes," I managed to gasp out.

Eric tugged down my jeans and panties, before standing up and making quick work of his shirt and jeans. My eyes widened. He had gone commando and his massive erection was standing straight out from his body. He was much larger compared to Bill. I only had a moment to panic slightly at his size before Eric picked me up and carried me over to his bed, placing me on it. He stood back and gazed at me, lust heaving in his gaze.

"Beautiful," he murmured before climbing on the bed on top of me, hands and mouth moving and caressing their way across my body. Feeling his arousal pressed against my body, I began to grow nervous. The only man I had ever been with was Bill, so I was definitely less experienced than Eric. The thought of Bill also caused me to remember what he had said to me the day I left him, and I froze. Eric stopped what he was doing, pulled away and looked at me, concern in his eyes.

"What's wrong? Are we moving too fast, do you want to stop?" he asked, breathing heavy.

I shook my head. "It's not that. I want this, I really do, but what if I'm not any good?" I asked, emotion inching its way into my voice.

Eric looked down at me, tenderness in his eyes. He placed a small kiss on my nose and gave me a small smile. "Impossible," he answered before kissing me again and moving a hand between my legs. It wasn't long before his fingers had worked me up to my first release. Before I had a chance to come down from my high, Eric moved so that the tip of his arousal was at my entrance. He locked eyes with me and never looked away as he entered me slowly. When he was all the way inside me, he paused and allowed me a minute to adjust to his size. As soon as I was ready, I moved my hips and that signaled to Eric to start moving.

Our lovemaking was not slow and tender. It was fast, hot and passionate. The entire time we never looked away from each other, our gaze always locked. Sex with Eric was nothing like sex with Bill. I never knew it could be like this. It wasn't long before I reached the peak and I came, screaming Eric's name. Eric followed almost immediately, shouting my name as he spilled his seed into me. For a minute we just stayed that way before Eric pulled out and rolled over onto his back, pulling me with him. I laid my head on his chest as he tightened his arms around me, placing a kiss on my temple.

"Like I said," he murmured. "Impossible."

I smiled and closed my eyes, relaxing as I listened to Eric's breathing begin to even out as he fell asleep. As I began to doze off myself, I thought about the day and knew that no matter what happened, things would be okay as long as I had Eric by my side.

**AN: So what did you think? Today is my birthday and reviews make the best presents. Let me know what you think, and I'll try and update next week!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hello? Is there anybody out there? I know, it's been a LONG time since I last updated, and here's my excuses in a nutshell: NANOWRIMO and the Holidays. That's it. Nothing else really. I'm going to try and update more often, but I'm also working on editing an original novel I wrote, so I'm going to try and balance things out evenly.**

**Since it's been a long time since I last updated, here's a quick summary of what's happened. Sort of a _Previously on Do Something: Sookie was engaged to cheater Bill and they moved to Italy because he is in the military. She caught him in bed with Lorena, so she left him and went to teach American History at an American boarding school in Italy. At the school, she found out she was rooming with notorious ladies man and roommate hater Eric Northman. Of course, the two of them began falling in love, but they hid it from each other, until they ran off to spend turkey day weekend in Rome. While there, they admitted their feelings to each other. Also while there, Bill made his presence known and told Sookie that he had been tracking her via her cell phone and knows where she is. Oh and in the last chapter, Eric and Sookie did the sex._**

**Hope that catches you all up, and that you enjoy the chapter! And as always, thanks to the wonderful Northwoman for helping me iron out my grammar :) **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Chapter 10: I am not afraid of the lion who is led by the sheep.**

**EPOV**

When I woke up, the room was dark and my left arm was asleep. I looked down and saw Sookie asleep on my chest. I smiled as I remembered our afternoon. Sex with Sookie was like nothing I had experienced before. I may have had a lot of sex with a lot of partners, but those experiences were nothing but meaningless fucks. No feelings involved. With Sookie, it was so much more. I had never had feelings this strong for anyone before, and it was both amazing and scary. The sex was definitely a perk. My dick twitched as I remembered our afternoon and how fucking sexy Sookie looked when she came under me. I wanted to make it my mission to make her look that way always and often. Bill was crazy to not be satisfied by her.

Fucking Bill. That bastard claimed to know where Sookie has been this entire time. I wasn't completely convinced that he knew where to find her, because if he did, I was sure he would have shown up at the school by now. But I wasn't going to take any chances. The minute we got back to school, I was dragging Sookie to Sophie-Anne's office and we were going to put a plan together just in case Bill showed up there. I was also going to do some research about restraining orders in Italy, but I had a feeling that because he's an American citizen, it would mean nothing. He would be untouchable.

I sighed and drew Sookie tighter against me, and dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head. I could lay like this forever. I smiled as I thought about how much I couldn't wait to have sex with Sookie again. But this next time, we would take things a little slower. I would take some time to explore her body, make love to her properly. This first time was fast and passionate. Not that it wasn't awesome, it's just that next time I wanted to slow things down and—Oh shit! We didn't use protection. Normally I'm ridiculously meticulous about remembering to use a condom, but this afternoon...I shook Sookie awake. We needed to talk about this, and now was as good a time as any. I felt incredibly guilty. Sookie opened her eyes and smiled up at me.

"Hey," she said, her voice rough from sleeping.

"Hey, how'd you sleep?" I asked, as she moved off of me to lay beside me.

"I slept really well. It was a nice nap."

I rolled over onto my left side and looked at her and smiled. She looked amazing laying next to me. I wanted to lay there forever, but then I remembered I needed to talk to her about my mistake and my smile slipped from my face.

"What's wrong?" Sookie asked, concerned.

I propped myself up on my elbow. "I'm so sorry. Earlier, when we were having sex, I forgot to use a condom. Usually I'm so good and careful. I'm clean, I was tested not too long ago, but it's so irresponsible of me not to talk with you about birth control-"

"Eric, it's okay," Sookie interrupted me. "I'm on the pill, it's okay, really. You don't need to freak out."

I breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled. "Okay, as long as you're not freaking out, I won't freak out. But I would feel better if I wore a condom from now on, just in case."

Sookie nodded in agreement then rolled over to look at the clock. "Wow, it's gotten late. We slept for a while." As if on cue, her stomach growled, loudly.

"Hungry?" I asked, grinning.

Sookie laughed. "Yes, I am. We skipped dinner, and my stomach is letting me know."

"That's right, we did," I said grinning as I remembered why we skipped dinner. Then I felt guilty. We never finished the tour of the city. I'm sorry. Maybe we can go to the piazza by The Pantheon for supper still?"

"It's okay, really. I don't really want to leave the room right now," Sookie said a small smile on her face.

I smiled back at her. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Want to just order room service and have dinner in bed?"

Sookie nodded and pulled the sheet tight around her body. "Room service sounds wonderful."

I reached over and picked up the phone and ordered two plates of lasagna. I hung up with room service and rolled back to face Sookie. I couldn't keep the grin off my face, as I looked at her. Self conscious, Sookie blushed and looked away.

"This afternoon was amazing," I said quietly, reaching over to stroke her shoulder.

"I thought so, too," Sookie said softly with a small smile. Then her smile faded. "It wasn't disappointing was it? Because I know I don't have as much experience as you do."

"It could never be disappointing with you. It doesn't matter how much experience you have. What matters most is the experiences we create together." Fuck, I sound like a chick. Where the hell did that come from? Before I risked sounding more chick like, I leaned over and kissed Sookie.

It didn't take long before our kiss began to lead to round two, and I pulled away for a minute to grab a condom out of my pants.

"What are you doing?" Sookie asked, breathlessly.

"Being careful," I said as I rolled the condom over my erection. "It's always better to be safe than sorry." I climbed back into the bed and on top of Sookie.

We then proceeded to create new memories with each other.

OoOOoo

We didn't leave the hotel room the rest of the weekend. When we weren't making love, we were sleeping or trying all the food on the room service menu. We had taken up permanent residence in my bed, and the "Do Not Disturb" sign had been permanently hung our doorknob.

Before we knew it, it was Sunday morning and we were packing up to return to school. We avoided talk of Bill and work the rest of our trip, but reality was beginning to set in.

"Lunchtime tomorrow, we'll go see Sophie Anne and talk to her about a plan, just in case Bill come to school," I said as we put our duffel bags in the trunk of my corvette.

I opened Sookie's door for her before walking around and getting in on my side of the car.

"Do you think Bill really knows where we are?" Sookie asked, once I had started the car and we had begun to leave the city.

"Honestly? I think he's bluffing. You've been at The Renaissance School for three months and he's never shown up. I would like to think that if he really knew where you were, he would have made a move by now. As Alexander once said, 'I am not afraid of the lion who is led by the sheep.' I think he is too cowardly to act on anything even if he does know where you are. However, I don't want to take any chances, your safety is too important to ignore a threat like this."

Sookie was quiet for a minute. "I feel so dumb. How could I have been with someone as long as I was with Bill, and never know this other side of him?"

I sighed and reached over to hold her hand. "You're not dumb. Bill was just really good at hiding who he really was from you."

"But I went back to him," Sookie said quietly. "He had cheated on me once with Lorena, and when he apologized and fed me pretty words, I went back to him. He lied to me, and not only did I believe him, I agreed to marry him and move to Italy."

"I promise, I will never lie to you."

"I know you won't. You're way too blunt. You always say what's on your mind. That's one of the things I like about you."

I smiled and squeezed her hand, then changed the subject. "So, what are you planning on doing with the kids tomorrow?"

Sookie sighed and leaned her head against the seat. "I don't know. We just finished the American Revolution and the Constitution before Thanksgiving, and I I'd really like to get through the Civil War by the semester, so I think I'll start on the War of 1812 so that by the end of the week we can start talking about the Jacksonians."

I nodded, "That sounds like a great idea. If you can get to Jackson by the end of the week, you can spend the next week talking about the Antebellum period and then finish off the Civil War before shipping off for Christmas break."

"So you don't think it will be rushed?"

"Nah, it will be just the right pace to keep the kids' attention."

Sookie laughed. "What are you going to do on Monday?"

"I'm going to begin my lesson on the Middle Ages. I'm going to discuss the Byzantine Empire and Justinian the first half of the week and then end the week with talking about the eventual fall of the Empire to the Ottomons in the late 1400s."

"Where do you want to end up by the end of the semester?" Sookie asked, glancing over at me.

"I would like to get to the Renaissance before Christmas."

I could see Sookie nod out of the corner of my eye. "That sounds doable," she smiled.

We drove back to school chatting about history events, and lesson plans, holding hands the entire way.

OoOOoo

We entered our room fairly early in the evening and we both sat down at our desks and got to work on our lesson plans for the week. I got really into the planning and making of my Power Points for the Byzantine Empire, including pictures I had taken when I had traveled to Istanbul a couple years ago, I hadn't noticed that it had gotten so late until I noticed Sookie turn off her lamp and go into the bathroom.

I finished up the slide I was working on and shut down my own computer. Sookie walked out of the bathroom, walked over to me and gave me a quick kiss. She walked over to her bed and turned down the covers. Before she climbed into bed, I stopped her.

"How would you feel if we pushed our beds together?" I asked.

"What?"

"I know we never talked about sleeping arrangements once we got back to school, and I don't know about you, but I've gotten kind of used to you sleeping in my arms," I smirked as Sookie's cheeks grew red.

"I did too," Sookie admitted.

"So, how about we push our beds together?"

Sookie nodded, and I walked over and pushed the beds together in the middle of the room. Sookie climbed into her bed as I walked into the bathroom. When I got out, I could hear Sookie's steady breathing, and knew she had already fallen asleep. Before I climbed into bed myself, I stopped at my desk and pulled a pad of paper out and made a quick list of thinks to accomplish in the next couple weeks.

Get Sookie a new cell phone with Louisiana number.

Research restraining orders.

Find out what Sookie's doing for Christmas.

**AN: Okay, this was kind of a transition chapter, I had to get them back to the school. Next chapter, will be from Sookie's POV and it will hopefully be out in the next week or so. Please review and let me know what you think.  
**


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